24 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



might have been rendered more " valuable" 

 by weeding out apocryphal matters, and 

 sticking closer to " facts." 



An Original Anecdote of the Dog. — Of the 

 dog we can all be eloquent ; and I could relate 

 "true anecdotes" of some of my canine favorites 

 that would hardly be credited. Still, with all my 

 success in teaching dogs to do marvellous things, 

 I never could teach them that when they jumped up 

 with dirty feet, there was an injury done to my 

 clothes. When they obeyed the command of 

 " Down, sir !" sometimes enforced by a gentle 

 coup de main, they never could reason about the 

 "why and because." Nor have I ever yet met 

 with any dog, or ever heard of any dog, that 

 couldhQ " argued with" on these moral proprieties 

 and observances. Talking of the memory of 

 dogs — one of mine, " Dash" by name, was once 

 stolen from me. After being absent thirteen 

 months, he one day entered my office in town, 

 with a long string tied round his neck. He had 

 broken away from the fellow who held him pri- 

 soner^ Our meeting may be imagined. I disco- 

 vered the thief ; had him apprehended; and took 

 him before a magistrate. He swore the dog was 

 his, and called witnesses to bear him out. "Mr. 

 Kidcl," said Mr. Twyford — I see him now — ad- 

 dressing me, "Can you give us any satisfactory 

 proof of this dog being your property ?" Placing 

 my mouth to the dog's ear — first giving him a 

 knowing look — and whispering a little masonic 

 communication, known to us tw T o only, " Dash " 

 immediately reared up on his hind legs, and went 

 through a series of gymnastic manoeuvres with a 

 stick, guided meanwhile by my eye, which set 

 the whole court in a roar. My evidence needed 

 no further corroboration ; the thief stood com- 

 mitted ; " Dash " was liberated ; and amidst the 

 cheers of the multitude we bounded merrily 

 homewards. The reunion among my "household 

 gods" may be imagined. It would be farcical to 

 relate it ; nor must I dwell upon certain other 

 rare excellencies of this same dog; with whom, 

 and his equally sagacious better half, " Fanny," 

 I passed many years of happy intimacy. — Kidd's 

 Essays on Instinct and Reason (in the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle). 



Fancy.— Fancy turns her sister's wizard 

 instruments into toys. She takes a tele- 

 scope in her hand and puts a mimic star on 

 her forehead, and sallies forth as an emblem 

 of astronomy. Her tendency is to the child- 

 like and sportive. She chases butterflies, 

 while her sister takes flight with angels. 

 She is the genius of fairies, of gallantries, of 

 fashions ; of whatever is quaint and light, 

 showy and capricious ; of the poetical part 

 of wit. She adds wings and feelings to the 

 images of wit ; and delights as much to 

 people nature with smiling ideal sympathies, 

 as wit does to bring antipathies together, 

 and make them strike light on absurdity. 



Wisdom.— Wisdom is the talent of buying 

 virtuous pleasures at the cheapest rate.— 

 1/ieldina. \ 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



J. C— Very many thanks. Pray correspond with us 

 regularly. 



J. H— Accept our warmest thanks for your earnest 

 endeavor to serve our interests. All the neAvsvendors 

 in Dublin will keep our London Journal on sale. 



J. P.— The " principles " you so approve, will ever he 

 advocated by us. You may therefore safely circulate 

 our Paper in your own, and your friends' family 

 circle. We shall write, with a view to benefit all man- 

 kind. 



New Subscribers, and Casual Reapers, are referred to 

 the Leading Article in our First Number for the 



DETAILED OBJECTS of the LONDON JOURNAL : to tllCSC 



we shall rigidly adhere. 

 Private Letters.— Of these we daily receive such 

 immense quantities, that we must really beg the 

 writers to excuse our not replying to them. Our time 

 is more profitably occupied. All vacancies, as they are 

 called, are filled up. Let this general answer suffice. 



Correspondents sending in any "facts" connected with 

 Science or Natural History, are requested in every 

 case to append their names and places of abode. In no 

 instance, however, will their names be published with- 

 out their express sanction. 



Notice to Subscribers and Others. — It having been 

 deemed expedient, to meet the view's of the Trade, that 

 this Journal should always be published by anticipa- 

 tion, Contributors and others will be so kind as to 

 bear in mind that they must give us an extra " week's 

 grace," and wait patiently till their favours appear. 



All persons who may send in MSS., but which may not 

 be " accepted," are requested to preserve copies of 

 them, as the Editor cannot hold himself responsible 

 for their return. 



To obtain this Paper without any difficulty, our readers 

 need only order it to be sent to them by any of their 

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 simultaneously with all the other weekly periodicals. 



ICIDFS LONDON JOUENAL. 

 Saturday, January 10, 1852. 



Our first number — the '■pons asinorwri' 

 with us — has appeared ; and we rejoice to 

 say that it is very rapidly ^appearing. 

 We augur from this, that w r e have some 

 friends — somewhere. "Friends," now-a-days, 

 are " rarities." We, then, are ' Fortune's 

 favorite ! ' 



We are right glad to have got rid of our 

 first issue, because the egotism necessarily 

 inseparable from an " opening day " need's 

 no longer to be resorted to. We have stated 

 our plan, defined our object, and launched 

 our vessel. It now rests with the public to 

 take us up, if, like Abdiel, we be found 

 " faithful," — or to reject us, if unworthy of 

 their regard. Nous verrons. 



We wish to make only one or two 

 other passing observations. From our hav- 

 ing been much in public company of late, 

 we have had excellent opportunities for 

 warily "feeling the public pulse." We 

 have asked, incidentally, certain questions 

 about the 'cheap periodicals,' and gathered 

 from the general remarks that which Ave 

 wanted to know, 



Some journals were voted " tame ; " some 

 "heavy;" some "badly arranged;" and 

 most of them, from the interminable ' con- 

 tinuations ' of the articles admitted, as " ill- 

 suited for the general reader." 



