she even read all his own poems, which were never to be
found _in the way_, at their house. She spoke of her
sister and her brothers, with a warmth of affection very
pleasing. On asking what was become of Camp, she shook
her head, and said he was dead. 'You must never come to
Abbotsford when any of the dogs die, for there is a sad
weeping amongst us all.'"--Lang's _Life of Lockhart_,
vol. i. pp. 232-234.]]

{p.184} On his return from the Abbey, Irving found Scott ready for a
ramble. I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of extracting some parts
of his description of it.

"As we sallied forth, every dog in the establishment turned
out to attend us. There was the old staghound, Maida, that I
have already mentioned, a noble animal, and Hamlet, the
black greyhound, a wild thoughtless youngster, not yet
arrived at the years of discretion; and Finette, a beautiful
setter, with soft, silken hair, long pendent ears, and a
mild eye, the parlor favorite. When in front of the house,
we were joined by a superannuated greyhound, who came from
the kitchen wagging his tail; and was cheered by Scott as an
old friend and comrade. In our walks, he would frequently
pause in conversation, to notice his dogs, and speak to them
as if rational companions; and, indeed, there appears to be
a vast deal of rationality in these faithful attendants on
man, derived from their close intimacy with him. Maida
deported himself with a gravity becoming his age and size,
and seemed to consider himself called upon to preserve a
great degree of dignity and decorum in our society. As he
jogged along a little distance ahead of us, the young dogs
would gambol about him, leap on his neck, worry at his ears,
and endeavor to tease him into a gambol. The old dog would
keep on for a long time with imperturbable solemnity, now
and then seeming to rebuke the wantonness of his young
companions. At length he would make a sudden turn, seize one
of them, and tumble him in the dust, then giving a {p.185}
glance at us, as much as to say, 'You see, gentlemen, I
can't help giving way to this nonsense,' would resume his
gravity, and jog on as before. Scott amused himself with
these peculiarities. 'I make no doubt,' said he, 'when Maid