and seemed to ask for his consent. He was told to return to the lady,
and take care of her, upon which he ran to her, took her basket from
her, and tried to express his willingness to serve her. He remained with
her for some hours, and when his master arrived to fetch him, the lady
was so pleased, that she asked for his company till the next day. Sam's
owner petted and praised him, told him to be a good dog, and stay with
the lady until she had given him his breakfast the next day. The dog was
contented to remain, ate his breakfast on the ensuing morning, then
looked up in the lady's face, wagged his tail, left the house, and ran
home. He was in the habit of fetching his master's clothes, and of
returning them to their proper places; and he knew their names. He sat
in a chair at dinner with the family, without making any confusion; or
dined alone, alternately taking a piece of bread and meat, and then
drinking a little milk; and if any one said, "Give me a piece, Sam," he
instantly obeyed. When all was gone, he cleared away the things. He
would fetch his master's horse from the inn, pay the hostler, and ride
back upon the saddle. In short, he seemed to comprehend every thing that
was said to him and was a model of good nature and obedience.

Wonderful as these stories are as matters of reason, they are perhaps
exceeded by some of the tricks performed by the Poodle-Dogs, who are
easily distinguished by their crisply curling hair, their large round
head, and long ears, and to whom water is as welcome and familiar as
land. Two of them, educated in Milan, exhibited their powers in Paris,
and I can vouch for the veracity of the following statement:--The elder
was named Fido, and the younger Bianco. The former was a serious, steady
dog, who walked about with much solemnity; but Bianco was giddy and
frolicsome. A word was given to Fido from the Greek, Latin, Italian,
French, or English languages, and selected from a book, where fifty
words in each tongue were inscribed, which, altogether, made three
hundred combinations. He selected from the letters of the alphabet those
which composed the given word, and laid them in order at the feet of his
master. On one occasion, the word _heaven_ was told to him, and he
quickly placed the letters till he came to the second _e_, when, after
vainly searching for the letter in his alphabet, he took it from the
first syllable, and inserted it in the second. He went through the four
first rul