The Moral Qualities of the Dog
. We pass on to another division of our subject,
the moral qualities of the dog
, strongly developed and beautifully displayed, and often putting the biped to shame.
It is truly said of the dog that he possesses
"Many a good
And useful quality, and virtue too,
Attachment never to be weaned or changed
By any change of fortune; proof alike
Against unkindness, absence, and neglect;
Fidelity, that neither bribe nor threat
Can move or warp; and gratitude, for small
And trivial favours, lasting as the life,
And glistening even in the dying eye."
It may here be noticed that, among the inferior animals with large nerves and more medullary substance, there are acuter senses; but man, excelling them in the general bulk of his brain, and more particularly in the cortical portion of it, has far superior powers of mind. These are circumstances that deserve the deepest consideration. In their wild state the brutes have no concern — no idea beyond their food and their reproduction. In their domesticated state, they are doomed to be the servants of man. Their power of mind is sufficient to qualify them for this service: but were proportionate intellectual capacity added to this — were they made conscious of their strength, and of the objects that could be effected by it — they would burst their bonds, and man would in his turn be the victim and the slave.
There is an important faculty, termed
attention
. It is that which distinguishes the promising pupil from him of whom no good hope could be formed, and the scientific man from the superficial and ignorant one. The power of keeping the mind steadily bent upon one purpose, is the great secret of individual and moral improvement. We see the habit of attention carried in the dog to a very considerable extent. The terrier eagerly watching for vermin — the sporting dog standing staunch to his point, however he may be annoyed by the blunders of his companion or the unskilfulness of his master — the foxhound, insensible to a thousand scents, and deaf to every other sound, while he anxiously and perseveringly searches out the track of his prey — these are striking illustrations of the power of attention.
, the impression having been received, and the mind having been employed in its examination, it is treasured up in the storehouse of the mind for future use.
This is the faculty of memory; and a most important one it is. Of the
memory
of the
dog
, and the recollection of kindness received, there are a thousand stories, from the return of Ulysses to the present day, and we have seen enough of that faithful animal to believe most of them. An officer was abroad with his regiment, during the American war. He had a fine Newfoundland dog, his constant companion, whom he left with his family. After the lapse of several years he returned. His dog met him at the door, leaped upon his neck, licked his face, and died.
Of the accuracy and retentiveness of memory in the dog, as respects the instruction he has received from his master, we have abundant proof in the pointer and the hound, and it may perhaps be with some of them, as with men, that the lesson must sometimes be repeated, and even impressed on the memory in a way not altogether pleasant.
We [know] an imported Irish setter, formerly in possession of a gentleman of this city, who on many occasions, while hunting, displayed an extraordinary instinct, even sufficiently remarkable to make us believe that he possessed not only the most acute powers of observation, but that he also enjoyed the faculty of "inductive reasoning," independent of any mechanical training, many of his performances being entirely voluntary, and the result of causes dependent upon accidental circumstances alone: for instance, when lost from observation, he would noiselessly withdraw from his point, hunt up his master, and induce him, by peculiar signs, to follow him to the spot where he had previously observed the birds.
In his old days, "Smoke" was much opposed to hunting with an indifferent shot, and would leave the field perfectly disgusted, after a succession of bad shooting; seeming to argue that he no longer sought after game for amusement, but that he expected his efforts to be repaid by the death of the birds.
This dog was of a morose and dignified disposition, surly with strangers, and inclined to quarrel with any one who carried a stick or whip in their hands; never forgetting an injury, and growling whenever any person who had offended him made their appearance. He was also particularly irritable and tenacious of his rights when hunting, shunning all puppies or heedless dogs, and exhibiting a very irascible disposition if superseded in a point by another dog; and on one occasion attacked a young pointer in the field, who, in opposition to all his growling and show of irony, would persist in crawling before him, when on a point. — L
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