A DOG'S REMORSE.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.1
SIR,—Being accustomed to walk out before breakfast with two sky terriers, it was my custom to wash their feet in a tub, kept for the purpose in the garden, whenever the weather was wet.
One morning, when I took up the dog to carry him to the tub, he bit me so severely that I was obliged to let him go. No sooner was the dog at liberty, than he ran down to the kitchen and hid himself. For three days he refused food, declined to go out with any of the family, and appeared very dejected, with a distressed and unusual expression of countenance.
On the third morning, however, upon returning with the other dog, I found him sitting by the tub, and upon coming towards him, he immediately jumped into it and sat down in the water. After pretending to wash his legs, he jumped out as happy as possible, and from that moment recovered his usual spirits.
There appears in this instance to have been a clear process of reasoning, accompanied by acute feeling, going on in the dog's mind from the moment he bit me until he hit upon a plan. of showing his regret and making reparation for his fault. It evi- dently occurred to him that I attached great importance to this foot-bath, and if he could convince inc that his contrition was sincere, and that he was willing to submit to the process without a murmur, I should be satisfied. The dog, in this case, reasoned with perfect accuracy, and from his own premisses deduced a legitimate conclusion which the result justified.—I am, Sir, &c., R. W
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