of a shooting excursion in another county. The carriage was so
constructed, that the opening to admit air was above, and not at the
sides, so that Flush could not possibly have seen any part of the road.
On his arrival in town, the groom tied him up by a cord, with access to
a kennel in the yard of the inn where my father stopped. He saw him the
last thing at night, but in the morning the rope had been severed, and
the dog was gone. All inquiries proved fruitless, it was supposed the
great value of the dog had tempted some one to purloin him, and in great
trouble his master wrote home his lamentations. Late in the evening of
the day in which he was missed, my mother heard a scratching and whining
at the front door, as she passed through the hall. Not supposing in any
way it could relate to her, she did not heed it. In about half an hour a
smothered bark met her ears, and then she ordered a servant to open the
hall door and ascertain the cause. There was poor Flush--wet, dirty,
hungry, and weary; with the remainder of the rope hanging to his neck.
He had never been a house dog, and that he should seek the
dwelling-house rather than the stable at some little distance, was
another proof of his sagacity; he knew he should be there more
immediately cared for, and so he was. My mother fed him herself; and,
stretched before the fire, he forgot his troubles. The joyful news was
conveyed to my father, as fast as the post would take it, and from that
time Flush was a companion in the drawing-room, as well as in the
shooting excursion.

The infinite variety of spaniels almost precludes a separate enumeration
of each in a limited work, I shall, therefore, confine myself to a few
general remarks. He may be called a small setter, as the setter is
called a large spaniel, having the same long hair and ears; but the
former is even more silken in its texture. With some it curls more, and
is a little harsher, and these are fonder of the water than the others.
Their attachments are strong, their intelligence great, and the beauty
of some of them makes them much sought as pets; they are, however,
generally useful to the sportsman. The only fault which can be laid to
their charge, and this perhaps only extends to a few, is, that they are
apt to love strangers as well as friends. As an instance to the
contrary, was a beautiful little red and white Blenheim, who was most
unsociable, and whose affections were most difficult to win. I, however,