98 
A Defenee of the Dog . 
[February, 
of some inhabitants from his native village, or from someone 
who had recently passed along it. Or, again, it may have 
been the presence in Dublin of someone familiar to him in 
youth that gave him the clue to the direction of his home — 
in the first place by arousing old associations, and secondly 
by affording him a trail to follow up or trace back. 
Perhaps we have followed this scent rather far, but before 
making a fresh cast I would like to tell one dog story, in the 
hope that Mr. Allan or some other authority may give the 
rationale of it. I may say that I have the story at first 
hand, and that I know the dog it is told of personally , and 
know other instances of his sagacity little less remarkable. 
His master had received two invitations for the same even- 
ing, one to dinner, the other to a dance or card party later on. 
Neither of the houses were those of intimate friends, and if the 
dog had been at either, it was only a very few times. When 
the master set out for the dinner, he told Gyp that he could 
not come with him, and the dog, with an air of profound 
depression and reludlant submission saw him depart without 
an attempt to follow. Sure enough, at the first place of call 
no Gyp appeared, but when my friend presented himself at the 
second he was greeted with the exclamation, ‘ Why, Mr. , 
your dog has been here ever so long, waiting for you.” Gyp 
greeted his master with slightly embarrassed but effusive 
welcome, as much as to say his obedience was literal, and 
not to the spirit “ Oh, I’m so glad to see you, and you 
know you didn’t say I wasn’t to come here.” The mere 
chapter of accidents will hardly account for such a coinci- 
dence as the animal going to the right house and waiting 
there some time. Had he merely called there and happened 
to hit the time of his master’s coming, one might have said he 
was going a round in search of him, and had made a fortunate 
guess. I will not here attempt to explain the matter, rather 
trusting some expert may be able to elucidate it. 
So much, then, for a single aspect of cynology — or, rather, 
so little ; for it is a subject that would make material for 
volumes. What one may call dog-lore, including in the 
term legends, tales, superstitions, nursery-rhymes, incidents, 
fables, proverbs, up to adtual historical events, would form 
an extensive literature, and has not received one whit too 
great attention, being well worthy of more systematic treat- 
ment than seems yet to have been given to it. It is obviously 
impossible within the limits of a reasonable article even to 
outline this vast field, but the mere indication of it should 
be sufficient to make us pause before we conclude the dog 
has become, or is fast becoming, a worse than useless 
