ndship. The impression
of this understanding seems to be so permanent that on subsequent
meetings the dog, though he may maintain his original dislike of the
man who has been forced upon his acquaintance, will continue to treat
him with a certain consideration, though it is often easy to see that
it is a difficult matter for him to conform to the requirements of
society. When we compare the conduct of dogs in these regards with
the behavior of other animals, even highly domesticated forms, we
perceive how marvellously successful has been man's unconscious
effort to mould this creature on his own nature.

Another extremely human characteristic of our canine friends is shown
in their susceptibility to ridicule. Faint traces of this quality are
to be found in monkeys and perhaps even in the more intelligent horses,
but nowhere else save in man, and hardly there, except in the more
sensitive natures, do we find contempt, expressed in laughter of the
kind which conveys that emotion, so keenly and painfully appreciated.
With those dogs which are endowed with a large human quality, such as
our various breeds of hounds, it is possible by laughing in their faces
not only to quell their rage, but to drive them to a distance. They
seem in a way to be put to shame and at the same time hopelessly
puzzled as to the nature of their predicament. In this connection we
may note the very human feature that after you have cowed a dog by
insistent laughter you can never hope to make friends with him. A case
of this kind is fresh in my experience. A year or two ago I was
imprudent enough to laugh at a very intelligent dog in my neighborhood,
he having unreasonably assailed me at my house-door, where he had been
left for a long time to wait while his owner was within and had thereby
been brought into an unhappy state of mind. Sympathizing with his
situation, I preferred to laugh him out of his humor rather than to
beat him with my stick. I regret I did not take the other alternative,
for I made the poor brute my implacable enemy by my pretence of
contempt for him. I am inclined to think that if I had beaten him the
matter could have been arranged afterward in a friendly way.

[Illustration: The Pounce of a Terrier]

Another very remarkable and I believe hitherto unnoticed likeness
between the mind of dogs and that of man is found in the fact that
these dumb beasts, unlike all other inferior animals, except, perhaps,
some of the more intell