CANINE SECOND SIGHT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1606, 12 July 1887, Page 3

CANINE SECOND SIGHT.

: The observer of pßychological phonnmena, as those wlio are closw Btudeots of the organisation of the Hog, will be interested in the following narrative, taken from Chambers' Journal. It has pffen been said that Animals have as a perception find as quick an appreciation. «s man himself of anything out of order of things, or part king ir/apy way of a preternatural character, Whether the-whole animil creation are with this singular s-g*city it is to say, and wr>u'd be equally impossible to prov«, but .s regards dogs and horses, at any ra'e- if we are to believe the many stories which have been related on the very best authorities—it is certain that:those atiitiiHls have been the first to recognise—ami t<> to-tify by their frighFa'idferror the force of such recognith' ; y are in the presence of som&tjilg-J bej ond their ken ; and the next'stepiß, with true aoimal sagacity, to setk safety trifligh', with the usual accompaniment of scared looks, droopped toils and ears and dropped he<de. In (the .follfwing curious nnrrative, o rem'irkab'e inKimice i« £ ven of a dog having.evidently seen something not seen by eilher'his master or mistress, which evirientljrat first caused him great delight, but which, ori closer investigation, turned oMtobeemply spice, and produced in " trie' dog,',all signs of abject fear. The peculiar circumstances of the story, which were jrtatecl to the writer by a friend whose word he can have no reason to doubt, are simply these : A young lady, Miss F——, was on a visit^to.a family of name and position, ColJqfeland Mrs G——-, who occupied a largeimansiori in one of the home counThey possessed a favorite setter, a pet of everybody's, but especially of Miss fliti.; who was as fond of the dog as the dog w&a of her. Wherever Miaa F went, walking, driving, or riding, Flora was sure to be close at hand. And in the drawing-room the dog would sit by Miss Jpl— 'a Bide, lay her lone; white nose on the lady s knee, and look up earnestly in her face, making that peculiar snoring in the nose that pet dogs often attempt, either to attract attention or to express

'ove. If, however, Flora was accidentally shut out from any room in which Misa >y - happened to be, she would Bcratch *t the door and whine and cry in a pitiful manner until the door was opened. Miss F —- had been staying with Colonel and Mrs Gi— r- about three or | four weeks, when she became suddenly ill, and determined to return without delay,to her home in the adjoining county. -vThither she was removed in an invalid wr carriage; but although aha received every h T. possible care and attention, she appeared to get- no better; her malady was evidently increasing daily. About a month after Miss F bad left Colonel G -'a home, he and his wife were one day in 'he drawing room, which looked out upon an extensive Uwn. The- bolls of the neighboring 7illage;ahureh

had begun to ring for the usual daily matinc, the time being a quarter before ten, and the Colonel and his wifo were preparing to attend, according to their regular custom, when they observed Flora —who waß lying apparently asleep, close to the open glass doors leading to ilu* lawn—raise her head quickly, and, wi'li cocked ears and strained eyes, look in tently down the lawn, as if she saw sonWhiug there which attracted her attention. All jamped up, bounded over the grass and commenced leaping up two or three times, expressing all those sign? of iu tense canine joy usually exhibited on meeting, of tor an absence, some specially loved object. In a moment, however,! the dog censed her gestures, dropped her tail and head, miutfeeting every sign of abject fear, and, turning round, rushed back to the house, into the room and crawled under the sofa, whenon neither calling nor coaxing on the part of Mrs G—— could induce her to stir. This peculiar conduct on the part of Flora, who was rem < \i ible for high training and perfect obedience, surprised and perplexed both the Colonel and lira wife quite as ranch as the violent manifestations of joy, followed immediately by o\ery sign of the most crouching terror, all of which were wholly unaccountable. About two hours later in the day a telegram was received by MrsG containing the sad and unexpected intelligence of the death of Miss F at a quarter >o ten in the morning. It may fairly be asked, what could have saused the dog suddenly to start up an<' rush down the lawn, with all the outward demonstrations of intense joy usually exhibited on seeing and meeting a loved friend. FJora, without doubt, must have seen something, or fancied she saw something, though invisible to the pye of man ; but, finding it had no tangib'e substance, aer canine instinct taught her that it was unnatural and unutual, and hence fear took the place of joy, and she sought refuge in flight. Thav the object of these tokens of love on the part of the dog ihould have passed to her rest, nnd at the identical moment they were exhibited by the faithful and attached Fora, is a joiheidence regarding which we will not >ffer an opinion.