MISCELLANY, 
53 
a considerable distance, until at length, on my approach, both of them made a 
short cut, and got again into the water .—Correspondent of the Cheltenham 
Chronicle , March 21, 1839. 
Anecdote op the Newfoundland Dog. —Take another story of this noble 
beast, which I know to be founded on fact:—A vessel was driven on the beach 
of Lydd, in Kent. The surf was rolling furiously—eight poor fellows were 
crying for help—but not a boat could be got off to their assistance. At length a 
gentleman came on the beach, accompanied by his Newfoundland Dog. He 
directed the attention of the animal to the vessel, and put a short stick into his 
mouth. The intelligent and courageous fellow at once understood his meaning, 
sprang into the sea, and fought his way through the waves. He could not, 
however, get close enough t!o the vessel to deliver that with which he was charged, 
but the crew joyfully made fast a rope to another piece of wood, and threw it 
towards him. He saw the whole business in an instant: he dropped his own 
piece, immediately seized that which had been cast to him, and then, with a 
degree of strength and determination almost incredible, he dragged it through the 
surf, and delivered it to his master. A line of communication was thus formed, 
and every man on board was rescued from a watery grave.— Youatt’s Humanity 
to Brutes. 
Reason in the Lower Animals.— The acts of some birds and Monkeys, 
observes Lord Brougham, cannot be accounted for by instinct, for they are the 
result of experience, and are performed with a perfect knowledge of the end in 
view; they are directed peculiarly to that end; they vary according to the 
circumstances in which they are performed, and the alteration made is always so 
contrived as to suit the variation in the circumstances. Some of these acts 
show more sagacity, according to Locke’s observation, than is possessed by many 
men. The existence of a comparing and a contriving power is, therefore, plain 
enough; and, on the whole, I conceive that a rational mind cannot be denied to 
the animals, however inferior in degree their faculties may be to our own. 
Eggs of the Marsh and Hen Harriers.— According to Montagu, the eggs 
of the Marsh Harrier are perfectly white, without any spot; Latham asserts 
that they are spotted with brown; Selby states that they are white, and 
not spotted; and Hewitson observes that, although for the most part white, 
they are sometimes also spotted and smeared with brown. An egg in our collec¬ 
tion,; presented by Mr. Rudston Read, is blotched and spotted with dirty brown 
on one side, and has a very few small spots on the other side., At first sight the 
egg might be supposed to be merely soiled, but we have no doubt the colour is 
natural. Our specimen of the Hen Harrier’s egg (also given us by Mr. Read) is 
similarly marked, but the spots are still fewer in number. There can, at the 
