One is a sad one, but it
is true, as are also all the others.
A gentleman was once travelling in France, on horseback, followed by
his dog; presently the dog began to show great uneasiness, and run
and jump up at him and bark violently. The man saw no one near, and
could not understand what was the matter.
The dog persisted in barking. At last, the man scolded him. This did
no good. The dog still barked and jumped up trying to get hold of
his master's legs; the man scolded the animal repeatedly, but all in
vain. The dog barked louder and louder. At last, the man struck him
with the butt-end of the whip harder than he intended; for he only
wished to silence the dog.
The thoughtless man went on satisfied. After a while, he found that
he had lost his purse. He went back some miles, till, at last, he
saw his dog lying dead in the road with one paw over a purse.
The poor creature had staggered back to the place where he had seen
it fall, and, faithful to the last in spite of his master's cruelty,
even in death, guarded his property.
A knowledge of character, comprehension of language, or some other
faculty, beyond what we can explain, is often discovered in dogs.
There was a family who had given leave to two poor men to come and
saw wood, do chores, &c.
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