Artist: Sir Edwin Landseer (lănd´´sēr).
Birthplace: London, England.
Dates: Born, 1802; died, 1873.
The story of the picture. This fine Newfoundland dog has just saved the life of a little child. We can see even in this print of the picture that they are both dripping wet, and so we know the child must have fallen into the water and was about to drown when the dog swam out and brought her safely to the shore.
We can only guess how the accident occurred. It could not have been a shipwreck, for then there would be others for the good old dog to save; besides, although the sky is partly cloudy, there is no evidence of a storm, and we see sailboats in the distance.
The child evidently had not been wading out into the water and gone beyond her depth, because she has on her shoes and stockings and is dressed for a day in the warm sunshine, perhaps out on the beach. Probably she had been playing on the wharf or on the rocky shore and had reached out too far or had slipped on a rock.
The dog, hearing her cry, must have immediately plunged into the water after her. Then holding the child firmly by her dress, he had battled against the waves until he reached a sandy beach from which he had dragged himself to this place.
Although we cannot see the parents, nurse, or playmates, no doubt they are running toward the child and the dog. The dog seems to be watching their approach as he lies there exhausted, guarding the precious burden lying across his paws. His great tongue hangs out and we can almost hear him pant as he gasps for breath after his fierce struggle against the waves.
The child is still unconscious, her large shade hat held by a rubber band under her chin; her arm lies limp and lifeless, yet we are sure the great dog has been in time, and she will soon open her eyes. The sea gulls circle about the two as if they were glad of the rescue, and were trying to show the parents where to find the child.
These powerful Newfoundland dogs are strong swimmers. At the first cry of alarm they usually plunge unbidden into the water, and rarely fail to accomplish a rescue. In France they are kept on the banks of the Seine as important members of the life-saving crew. Here they are carefully trained for this purpose by their masters, who throw a stuffed figure of a man into the water and teach the dogs to bring it back to shore. They are taught always to hold the head of the figure above the water. They seem to understand perfectly just what is wanted of them and why.
A story is told, and it is claimed to be true, of a woman who, while washing clothes on the bank of a river, placed her baby in the clothes basket to keep it safe. In some way the child tipped the basket, rolling out of it and down the bank into the deep water below. The woman screamed but she was helpless. Hearing her cry, a large Newfoundland dog that she had never seen before came swimming down the stream and saved the child, carrying it to the opposite shore.
The woman ran down the bank of the river and secured the help of a ferryman and his grandson, a boy about ten years old. When the boat reached the opposite shore the big dog was licking the hands and face of the cooing child, but growled and barked viciously at the people who were approaching him. No one dared go near him. They tried every device, but no, he could not be coaxed away from the baby.