1854 Jenyns* Natural History. 



from the cries which it uttered, and from its making no attempt to attack the cat, evi- 

 dently under the influence of great alarm." — p. 67. 



Anecdote of Dogs. — " A lady, living in the neighbourhood of my own village, had 

 some years back a favourite Scotch terrier, which always accompanied her in her rides, 

 and which was also in the habit of following the carriage to church every Sunday 

 morning. One summer the lady and her family were from home several weeks, the 

 dog being left behind. The latter, however, continued to come to church by itself for 

 several Sundays in succession, galloping off from the house at the accustomed hour, 

 so as to arrive at the time of service commencing. After waiting in the church-yard a 

 short time, it was seen to return quiet and dispirited, home. The distance from the 

 house to the church is three miles, and beyond that at which the ringing of the bells 

 could be ordinarily heard. This was probably an instance of the force of habit, as- 

 sisted by some association of recollections connected with the movements of the house- 

 hold on that particular day of the week. 



" The same lady has communicated to me an anecdote, somewhat similar to the 

 above, but more extraordinary. This related to a poodle dog belonging to a gentle- 

 man in Cheshire, which it appears was in the habit of not only going to church, but 

 remaining quietly in the pew during service, whether his master was there or not. 

 One Sunday the dam at the head of a lake in that neighbourhood gave way, so that 

 the whole road was inundated. The congregation in consequence consisted of a very 

 few, who came from some cottages close by, but nobody attended from the great house. 

 The clergyman informed the lady, that, whilst reading the Psalms, he saw his friend, 

 the poodle, come slowly up the aisle dripping with wet, having swam above a quarter 

 of a mile to get to church. He went into the usual pew, and remained quietry there 

 to the end of the service." — p. 70. 



Anecdote of a Dog and Cat. — " The above lady has also given me the following 

 anecdote of a dog and cat. A little Blenheim spaniel of hers once accompanied her to 

 the house of a relative, where it was taken into the kitchen to be fed : on which occa- 

 sion two large favourite cats flew at it several times, and scratched it severely. The 

 spaniel was in the habit of following its mistress in her walks in the garden, and by 

 degrees it formed a friendship with a young cat of the gardener's, which it tempted 

 into the house, — first into the hall, and then into the kitchen, — where, on finding one 

 of the large cats, the spaniel and its ally fell on it together, and without further pro- 

 vocation beat it well ; they then waited for the other, which they served in the same 

 manner, and finally drove both cats from the kitchen. The two friends continued af- 

 terwards to eat off the same plate as long as the spaniel remained with her mistress in 

 the house." — p. 71. 



Black variety of the Water- Vole. — " We have an animal frequenting the fen-ditches 

 of Cambridgeshire, and not very unfrequent, which the people sometimes call the 

 1 water-mole.' This is nothing more than a black variety of the common water-rat, 

 the fur of which is sometimes of as deep and velvety a hue as in the mole ; but every 

 gradation of tint may be found in different individuals between this uniform rich 

 black and the reddish brown which more ordinarily prevails. There is no other dif- 

 ference whatever, besides colour, between these two kinds of water-rats, though the 

 black has been considered by some as a distinct species.* 



* See Macgillivray in Wern. Mem., vol. vi. p. 429- 



