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knelt down , crouching as closely as possible ; the oth ^ r nimbly walked over him , and both returned in perfect safety , At Ardinglass , near Glenarm , in Ireland , two goats meeting on a precipice a thousand feet high , were seen to extricate themselves from danger by a similar
expedient . In both of these instances , the animals looked at each other for some time , as if considering their situation , and deliberating what was best to be done in the emergency . Instinct might have prompted them to butt each other , or to have acted as they did , immediately , and without deliberation ; but they appear not only to have reflected , but to have understood each others' thoughts . In fact , they did exactly what two sensible men would have done , under similar circumstances .
In Kees ' s Cyclopedia , an instance is mentioned of singular sagacity and contrivance in a cat . A lady had a tame bird which she-used to let out of its cage everyday . Her cat and bird lived on the best possible terms with each other , and acts of reciprocal kindness were common events . But , one day , the lady was greatly alarmed by observing the cat to seize the bird in the most determined manner , lumping with it in her mouth upon the table . She now discovered
that a strange cat had entered the room ; she immediately turned out the intruder , and shut the door ; whereupon puss gracefully descended from the table , and depositing the uninjured bird at the lady ' s feet , purred most affectionately on its escape . Here was observation , reflection , decision , kindness , and devotion to the safety of a bird , the natural prey and food of a cat . Instinct would scarcely have prompted one cat to destroy , and the other to save , at the same
moment . But if ^ ats are thus sagacious and intelligent , who will deny reason to a dog , that generous , assiduous , and devoted creature ; vigilant and faithful even unto death ? Who shall say how many human lives have been saved from drowning , from fire , and from premeditated murder , by dogs ? Two or three instances out of a thousand , we are tempted to relate .
A gentleman , named Irvine , was crossing the River Dee , near Aberdeen , with his dog and gun , the river being frozen . The ice gave way and he sunk , but supported himself with his gun , which fell across the opening . The dog having made many fruitless efforts to afford assistance to his master , ran off to a neighbouring village ,
where , meeting a man , he pulled him by the coat , and by significant gestures , prevailed on him to follow him to the spot , where he arrived just in time to save the gentleman's life . At Ditchley , near Blenheim , formerly the seat of the Earl of Litchfield , is a portrait by Janson , of Sir Henry Lee , with his mastiff ¦ — and in the corner of the picture the following lines : —
" But in my dog , whereof I made no store , I find more love than those I trusted more . " It is related that one of Sir Henry ' s servants had conceived the design of assassinating his master and robbing the house . One night ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
knelt down , crouching as closely as possible ; the oth ^ r nimbly walked over him , and both returned in perfect safety , At Ardinglass , near Glenarm , in Ireland , two goats meeting on a precipice a thousand feet high , were seen to extricate themselves from danger by a similar
expedient . In both of these instances , the animals looked at each other for some time , as if considering their situation , and deliberating what was best to be done in the emergency . Instinct might have prompted them to butt each other , or to have acted as they did , immediately , and without deliberation ; but they appear not only to have reflected , but to have understood each others' thoughts . In fact , they did exactly what two sensible men would have done , under similar circumstances .
In Kees ' s Cyclopedia , an instance is mentioned of singular sagacity and contrivance in a cat . A lady had a tame bird which she-used to let out of its cage everyday . Her cat and bird lived on the best possible terms with each other , and acts of reciprocal kindness were common events . But , one day , the lady was greatly alarmed by observing the cat to seize the bird in the most determined manner , lumping with it in her mouth upon the table . She now discovered
that a strange cat had entered the room ; she immediately turned out the intruder , and shut the door ; whereupon puss gracefully descended from the table , and depositing the uninjured bird at the lady ' s feet , purred most affectionately on its escape . Here was observation , reflection , decision , kindness , and devotion to the safety of a bird , the natural prey and food of a cat . Instinct would scarcely have prompted one cat to destroy , and the other to save , at the same
moment . But if ^ ats are thus sagacious and intelligent , who will deny reason to a dog , that generous , assiduous , and devoted creature ; vigilant and faithful even unto death ? Who shall say how many human lives have been saved from drowning , from fire , and from premeditated murder , by dogs ? Two or three instances out of a thousand , we are tempted to relate .
A gentleman , named Irvine , was crossing the River Dee , near Aberdeen , with his dog and gun , the river being frozen . The ice gave way and he sunk , but supported himself with his gun , which fell across the opening . The dog having made many fruitless efforts to afford assistance to his master , ran off to a neighbouring village ,
where , meeting a man , he pulled him by the coat , and by significant gestures , prevailed on him to follow him to the spot , where he arrived just in time to save the gentleman's life . At Ditchley , near Blenheim , formerly the seat of the Earl of Litchfield , is a portrait by Janson , of Sir Henry Lee , with his mastiff ¦ — and in the corner of the picture the following lines : —
" But in my dog , whereof I made no store , I find more love than those I trusted more . " It is related that one of Sir Henry ' s servants had conceived the design of assassinating his master and robbing the house . One night ,