oman, and the child have undoubtedly gone to the
dog's help at the risk of their own lives on many an occasion; but so
also has the dog risked his for the sake of the man--not from any moral
claim, not because life is a precious thing and must be saved, not
because of that power which impels, and whose chief gift is the sense of
after-satisfaction that comes even to the most disinterested; such things
lie necessarily beyond the reach of the dog mind. What the dog does is
done for love, because of his faith, and because, unlike any other living
animal, he thinks, in his unselfishness, more of his friend than he ever
does about himself.

On the shores of a lake in Travancore, not far from the remote cantonment
of Quillon, stands a monument to the memory of a dog. He was left to
watch his master's clothes while bathing. Presently he was seen to be
doing everything in his power to attract attention, by barking and
running excitedly backwards and forwards on the shore. An advancing
ripple was then discerned on the smooth surface of the lake, and the next
instant the meaning of this flashed home. A crocodile had got between the
swimmer and the landing-place, and was coming out to seize his prey. Hope
might well have been stricken dead in the face of such a situation. But
the dog did not hesitate. Plunging into the water, he swam out to get
between the horrid reptile and his master, and thus to head him off. It
meant his own certain death; but the saving of his master's life. A
moment later there was a violent agitation of the water, and the dog had
disappeared for ever. Thus there stands to record his splendid action
this well-known monument, erected by his master in deepest gratitude, and
that passers-by might learn of what a dog is capable.

The incident is not the only one of its kind, and may be left to speak
for itself. But the influence of that one act has probably been
world-wide; and it is because of the exhibition of such qualities that
the moral power of the dog reaches to greater lengths than is generally
supposed. There is indeed ample evidence for believing that the beauties
often traceable in the character of the dog re-act unconsciously, and for
infinite good, upon the roughest of our own kind--by claiming
unselfishness from those who otherwise may lay claim to possessing
little; by showing what love may be under stress and strain, hardship and
rough fare; by the exhibition of patience and faithfulness; by thos