CHAPTER VII.
THE INTELLIGENT POODLES.
"You promised, cousin Ida, to read about the Stockholm dog."
"I will, Minnie; but uncle George has something to tell you."
"Read it now, Ida," said Mr. Lee, "and I will relate my storiesafterward."
"A captain of an English merchant vessel arrived in the port ofStockholm, in Sweden, and was soon afterward seized with an illness, ofwhich he died. At the time of his death, he had on board a fine, largeNewfoundland dog, which was fondly attached to him. On the day of thecaptain's funeral, Neptune was allowed to follow his poor master to thegrave; and, after the funeral ceremony had been performed, the officersand crew made every exertion to induce the dog to follow them to theship, but all in vain; and their endeavors to catch him provingfruitless, they left him in the churchyard.
"During the short time the ship remained in port, Neptune might be seenat all times lying with his head on the grave, and every day the sailorsbrought him his food; but he was so vigilant on these occasions thatthey never could get near him, to take him back to the ship, and theywere obliged to sail without him.
"The neighboring Swedish inhabitants, in admiration of the extraordinaryattachment displayed by this animal to his late master, madearrangements among themselves to supply him with his daily food; and, asthe weather soon became extremely cold, a subscription was made, tobuild him a comfortable doghouse, which was placed near the grave.
"It was affecting to see how earnestly Neptune gazed into every new-madegrave, proving that he cherished the hope of seeing his beloved masteragain.
"He remained on the grave for several years, and came to be called thedog of Stockholm, when, one day, he was found dead at his post."
"I love Neptune," faltered Minnie, wiping her eyes. "I wish I couldhave seen him there. But, father, what did you say you had to tell me?"
"I found two remarkable stories of the exhibition of dogs, which Ithought would interest you; and so I took the pains to borrow the bookfor your benefit.
"The first was an account of two pointers, Braque and Philax, exhibitedin London by Mr. Leonard, a French gentleman of great wealth, who hadinstructed his dogs for his own amusement. He was earnest in statingthat it only required gentle, persevering effort to teach them almostany thing.
"The dogs were in vigorous health, and having bowed gracefully to thecompany, seated themselves on the hearth rug, side by side. Mr. Leonardspoke to his dogs in French, in his usual low tone, and ordered one ofthem to walk, the other to lie down, to run, to gallop, to halt, tocrouch, all of which they did as promptly and correctly as the mostdocile children.
"He then placed six cards, of different colors, on the floor, and,sitting with his back to the dogs, directed one to pick up the blue cardand the other the white, varying his orders rapidly, and speaking insuch a manner that it was impossible they could have executed hiscommands if they had not a perfect knowledge of his words.
"For instance, he said, 'Philax, take the blue card, and give it toBraque; and, Braque, take the red card and give it to Philax;' and theseorders were instantly executed.
"Pieces of bread and meat were placed on the floor, when Philax wasordered to bring a piece of meat and give it to Braque, and then Braquewas ordered to give it back to Philax, who was to return it to itsplace. Braque was then ordered to bring a piece of meat and eat it; butbefore he had time to swallow it, he was forbidden to do so, andinstantly pushed it through his teeth, to show that he obeyed.
"After this, Mr. Leonard invited any gentleman to play a game ofdominos with Braque. The dog seated himself at the table, and hisantagonist opposite him. Six dominos were given to the dog, and six moreto the gentleman. Braque, having the double number, took it in hismouth, and put it in the middle of the table, when the gentleman putdown a corresponding piece.
"Braque instantly placed another correctly, when the gentlemanintentionally placed a wrong number.
"The dog stared, growled, and at last barked angrily. Finding no noticewas taken of his remonstrances, he pushed away the wrong domino with hisnose, picked a suitable one from his own pieces, and put it instead,when they went on, and Braque won the game."
"O, father, I mean to teach Tiney to play with me."
"But here is a wonderful story about dogs."
"About fifty years ago, a Frenchman brought to London from eighty to ahundred dogs, chiefly poodles, all nearly the same size, and of thesmaller kind. On the education of these animals their proprietor hadbestowed a great deal of pains.
"From puppyhood upwards they had been taught to walk on their hind legs,and maintained their footing with surprising ease in that unnaturalposition.
"Among other performances was the representation of a siege. On therising of a curtain, there appeared three ranges of ramparts, one abovethe other. In the centre of the fortress arose a tower, on which a flagwas flying. The ramparts were guarded by soldiers in uniform, each armedwith a musket or sword of an appropriate size. All these were dogs, andtheir duty was to defend the walls from an attacking party, whosemovements now commenced the operations of the siege.
"After some skirmishing, in which the chief, habited as an officer ofrank, was conspicuous, the drums beat to arms, and the battle commencedin earnest. The chief of the assailants did wonders. He was seen, nowhere, now there, animating his men, and seeming to receive an accessionof courage on every fresh repulse.
"The rattle of the miniature cannon, the roll of the drums, the sound oftrumpets, and the heroism of the actors on both sides, imparted an ideaof reality to the scene. After numerous hair-breadth escapes, theenemy's standard was hurled down, and the British flag hoisted in itsplace; the ramparts were manned by the conquerors, and the smokecleared away to the tune of 'God save the King.'
"But a still more wonderful scene was an assembly room, on the sides andthe farther end of which seats were placed; while a music gallery and aprofusion of chandeliers gave a richness and truth to the generaleffect. Liveried servants were in attendance on a few of the dog companywho entered.
"Frequent knockings were now heard at the door, followed by the entranceof parties attired in the fashion of the period. These were the samedogs who had recently been engaged in the battle; but now all was peace,elegance, and ease. Different parties of dogs were introduced to eachother with an appearance of the greatest decorum. The dogs representingladies were dressed in silks, gauzes, laces, and gay ribbons, andadorned with artificial flowers, with flowing ringlets, with powderedand pomatumed headdresses, with caps and lappets, in ludicrous contrastto their natural features. The dogs representing gentlemen wereequipped, some as youthful, and others as aged beaux.
"The frequent bow and responsive courtesy produced great mirth in theaudience. Suddenly, the master of ceremonies appeared. He wore a courtdress, and his manners were in agreement with his costume. To some ofthe dog-gentlemen, he gave merely a look of recognition; to the ladieshe was attentive; to some he offered his paw familiarly, to others hebowed with respect, and introduced one to another with an elegance thatsurprised the spectators.
"The music was soon interrupted by a loud knocking, which announced thearrival of some important visitor. Several liveried servants entered,and then a sedan chair was borne in by appropriately dressed dogs. Theyremoved the poles, raised the head, and opened the door of the sedan,when forth came a dog-lady splendidly attired in satin, decorated withjewels and a plume of ostrich feathers! She made a great impression,and appeared conscious of her superior charms, returning the bow of themaster of ceremonies with a courtesy.
"The band now struck up an air appropriate for the promenade; and thecompany instantly quitted their seats, and began to walk in pairs aroundthe room.
"On seats being resumed, the master of ceremonies and the sedan chairlady arose: he led her to the centre of the room, Foote's minuet struckup, when the pair commenced the movements with an attention to time.They performed the crossings and turnings, the advancings andretreatings, and obeisances, dur
ing which there was a perfect silence;and they concluded the whole amid thunders of applause."
MRS. LESLIE'S JUVENILE SERIES.
16mo.
FOR BOYS.
Vol. I. THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN. " II. PLAY AND STUDY. " III. HOWARD AND HIS TEACHER. " IV. JACK, THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER.
FOR GIRLS.
Vol. I. TRYING TO BE USEFUL. " II. LITTLE AGNES. " III. I'LL TRY. " IV. ART AND ARTLESSNESS.
MINNIE'S PET MONKEY.
BY
MRS. MADELINE LESLIE, AUTHOR OF "THE LESLIE STORIES," "TIM, THE SCISSORS-GRINDER," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 1864.
Transcriber's Note
A handwritten note on the dedication page identifies Henry FowleDurant, Jr. as: "Son of founder of Wellesley College which wasfounded in memory of the boy who died in youth. K.F.R."
The following corrections were made:
18 her parents went a changed to her parents went on a 24 "What can you give me for supper?" changed to "'What can you give me for supper? 24 '"That is too changed to "'That is too 29 from the ship. changed to from the ship." 73 them to you." changed to them to you. 78 rather sad." changed to rather sad. 82 very affecting." changed to very affecting. 129 have him shot. changed to have him shot." 150 The music was changed to "The music was
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