406 
MAMMALIA. 
friendship, a more faithful memory, a stronger attachment, more 
sincere abnegation, a mind more loyal and frank P The Dog does 
not know what ingratitude is. He does not abandon his bene- 
factor in danger or adversity. With joy he offers to sacrifice 
his life for those who feed him. He pushes his devotion so far 
as to forget himself. He does not recall the corrections, the 
unkind treatment, to which he has been subjected ; he thirsts 
for caresses, while the indifference of those who are dear to 
him plunges him into deep distress. Noble creature ! the 
favourite of the rich, consolation of the poor, inseparable com- 
panion of the unfortunate; thanks to thee, the miserable in- 
dividual who dies alone in the midst of society, counts at 
least one friend at his melancholy funeral ; he does not descend 
alone into the cold grave, for thou comest to shed on his tomb 
the sincere tears of affection and regret ; and such is the excess 
of thy grief, that no one can tear thee from that spot where 
sleeps the corpse of him thou lovest ! 
And what intelligence ; what penetration ; what finesse is 
there in this admirable companion of our gladness and sorrow ! 
How well he can read countenances ; how skilfully he knows 
how to interpret the sentiments conveyed in gestures and 
words ! In vain you may threaten, in vain try to frighten 
him. Your eye betrays you ; that smile, which scarcely 
appears upon your lips, has unmasked your feelings, and so 
far from fearing and avoiding you, he comes to solicit your 
attention. 
Volumes might be written, if desirable, relating all the extra- 
ordinary stories of which Dogs are the heroes. Every day, in ordi- 
nary life, we see something of this kind, and which, although of 
so frequent occurrence, is none the less curious. Is it necessary 
to recall to memory the Dog of Ulysses, the model of fidelity ; the 
Dog of Montargis, the vanquisher of crime ; of Munito, the 
brilliant player at dominoes ? Must we mention the Newfound- 
land Dog and the Dog of Mount St. Bernard, both of them 
preservers of human life ? Is it necessary to speak of in- 
telligent Dogs going for provisions for their master, and assist- 
ing him in his duties with ability ; of the shoeblack’s Dog, 
trained to plant his muddy paws on the best polished boots, 
so as to bring more business to his master, the man of the 
