Sir Edwin Landseer has painted another picture of a Newfoundland dog, called "A Member of the Royal Humane Society," which looks so much like this one that it might be the same dog.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. What kind of a dog is this? What has he done? What makes you think he and the little girl have been in the water? that there has not been a shipwreck? Why do you think the child had not been wading? How is she dressed? How do you suppose she happened to fall into the water? How could this dog save her? Where do you suppose the child's playmates and nurse are? Where is the dog lying? Why does he not take the child to them? What makes you think he is tired? How are Newfoundland dogs sometimes trained in France? Tell about the washwoman and her baby. How was the baby rescued? Why could the mother not take the child? What did the boy do? What happened then? When were they released? How do Newfoundland dogs sometimes punish small dogs that annoy them? Why do they not drown? Tell about the two boatmen and their wager. Tell about the dog and the lady's parasol. What do these stories tell us about Newfoundland dogs? What other kind of dogs save many lives? What did the Newfoundland do at the dog pound? How do they sometimes resent abuse? Tell about the boatman and his dog. Upon what island are they used to carry burdens? Tell a story showing that duty comes first with these dogs. What other picture of this dog has Sir Edwin Landseer painted? Why do you think he was especially fond of Newfoundland dogs?
To the Teacher: Short stories of the bravery and faithfulness of dogs may take the place of other talks on kindness to animals.
Subjects for Compositions
A Description of a Newfoundland Dog.
How a Dog Saved a Child from Drowning.
The Smartest Dog I Ever Saw.
The Bravest Dog I Ever Heard of.
A Description of a St. Bernard Dog.
How to Treat a Dog.
Why We Should Be Kind to Dogs.
The story of the artist. When Edwin Landseer was a small boy he lived in the country. Nearly every day at breakfast the father would ask his boys, "What shall we draw to-day?" The three boys would take turns choosing and sometimes they would vote on it. Then out across the fields the father and his boys would tramp until they came to where the donkeys, sheep, goats, and cows were grazing. Each would choose the animal he wished to draw; then the four would sit down on the grass and make their sketches. Edwin's first choice for a subject was a cow, and his father helped him draw it.
When he was five years old he drew a picture of a dog asleep on the floor that was very much better than any his older brothers could do, and so even then they began to expect much from him.
At this time Edwin had three dogs of his own named Brutus, Vixen, and Boxer. They were always with him, and so intelligent they almost seemed to speak.
In their back yard the children had several pens for pet rabbits and they kept pigeons in the attic of their house. The story is told of how Mr. Landseer once decided to move, selected the house, and thought all was settled, when the landlord refused to rent the house to him because he kept so many animals and birds as pets.
We read of how the father and his sons made many visits to the Zoölogical Gardens where they could watch and make sketches of lions, bears, and other wild animals. One day they saw a strange sight in one of the store windows in London—a large Newfoundland dog caring for a lion. The lion had been caught in Africa when it was very little and had been cared for by this dog. They had never been separated. Now, although the lion was much larger than the dog, they were still the best of friends.