208 The Carnivora. 
and he was saved from destruction only by the timely use 
of her parasol. Supposing me to have some acquaintance 
with the different breeds, she asked whether fox terriers 
were always such savage brutes. I replied that I did not 
think so; but they were often taught to kill rats, and that 
perhaps a mistake occurred in the hurry of the moment. 
It was a cruel suggestion, for which I ,was not forgiven 
until she sent me the following account of the little fellow’s 
intelligent behaviour, which shows what can be made of 
these usually disagreeable and pampered pets under wise 
management, and when they are allowed to lead natural. 
lives and develop their faculties: “When my boy Edward 
was so ill in the spring, I used to hurry over my meals 
as much as possible, scarcely ever being more than five 
minutes at any one of them, so as to return and be with 
him. ‘Drei’ soon found this out, and, after a few days, 
disappeared into the kitchen as soon as my husband rang the 
bell at dinner for the soup to taken be away, the dog knowing 
that I was then sure to go away. In about a fortnight 
Edward began to be a little better, and one evening, feeling 
very weary—when my husband had rung the bell, and ‘ Drei’ 
had, as usual, run out—I said, ‘I shall sit here a few minutes 
longer, and rest awhile. My husband went on with his 
dinner, but we did not talk. In less than five minutes, 
we heard a short, sharp bark at the door, a demand for 
admittance. My husband let the dog in, who forthwith 
scrambled on to my lap. We should have thought no more 
about it, had not Bertha (Mrs. Pringle’s maid] said to me 
next morning, ‘I should like you to hear what “Drei” did 
last night. When he left the dining room, as usual, he 
got into his bed in the kitchen, but, in a very short 
time, ‘began to be restless, and sat listening, and ended by 
leaving his bed and making me open the door for him. 1 
watched to see what he would do next. He ran straight 
to the mat at the foot of the stairs, sniffed vigorously 
at it, then looked slightly puzzled, but, after a moment’s 
