Dogs. 1 1 



people say is broadly intelligible to you, and yet you 

 cannot express yourself at all. Very young children 

 understand a great deal before they are able to express 

 themselves in words. Even horses — and horses are 

 incomparably less intelligent than dogs — understand a 

 complete vocabulary of orders. May not a dog of ability 

 enter, to some extent, into the meaning of spoken lan- 

 guage even though he may never be able to use it ? With- 

 out giving the reins to imagination, it may be presumed 

 that some dogs know at least the names of different people, 

 and may take note of the manner, cordial or otherwise, 

 in which we pronounce them. Whatever they may know 

 of spoken language, it is quite clear that they understand 

 the language of manner, and have a very delicate appreci- 

 ation of human behaviour. 



Besides the love which the dog has for his master, and 

 for him alone, he has. his friendships and acquaintances 

 with humanity. And as a married man may quite inno- 

 cently establish friendships with ladies whom he likes and 

 respects, so the most faithful of dogs may have kindly 

 feelings for men who stand in no nearer relation to him 

 than that of acquaintance. All my friends' dogs are 

 polite acquaintances of mine, and conduct themselves 

 with becoming courtesy. One fat lady is the happy 

 owner of the tiniest creature that ever aspired to the 

 dignity of dog-hood, and as our acquaintance seemed to 

 have ripened into an intimacy, I invited Bellona (for such 

 was her warlike name) to share with me the perilous pleas- 

 ures of a canoe-voyage. This, however, was presuming 

 too far, and at the first landing she deserted the ship 

 and fled homewards, like a frightened rabbit, across the 

 fields. . . . 



Bellona — the Roman goddess of war. 



