DOG LORE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 37, 12 February 1910, Page 18

DOG LORE.

BOMB EVERYDAY BELIEFS. Tt is in some respects a carious fact that dogs, the most faithful friends of man, have not escaped the taint of superstition, which has found Its way Into almost every action and motive of life. Indeed, both life and death are alike In this ■respect, though It Is not directly with death that we purpose dealing. How these superstitions have orlgina'ted, and where and | when, are problems Impossible of solution. All we can tell is they are of undoubted antiquity. Amongst the everyday beliefs concerning dogs, "wise" folk will tell you good luck will come In Its train; but if a strange white dog strikes up a sudden frierid3hlp for you it Is an indication of Impending misfortune. But of all the bad fortune a dog enn bring none is more certain or more fatal than when such an animnl howls at night beneath the window or before the house in which there is sickness, death must Inevitably ensue upon such nn omen. Many people believe that a dog can see do-ath enter a house, and hence it is that he howls. Something of this sort Is universal, for the negroes say that when a dog comes to the yard in front of a house door, there lying on his back, with legs pawing the air, making a motion to and fro as If rubbing his back, he measures a grave for some members of the household. Or, if death be very near, the dog will bark and whine at very unseemly hours. Here, too, it may be mentioned that regroes will carry about with them, as a charm against the bftes of dogs, a black cat's foot. CURB' FOR A HOWLING DOG. In some parts of England the cure for a. howling dog Is to take off the right shoe and spit into it. To dream of dogs has very different signification, according to the manner in which you see them. Thus, If they seem to fawn ou and fondle you, It Is a lucky omen; if you are In love your sweetheart will marry you, and render you happy. If they are barking and snarling at you, depend on It enemies are secretly endeavouring to destroy your reputation and happiness. If you are in love, be careful of your sweetheart. So snys an old book still studied by silly girls and sillier lads. To drive the whooping cough out oX a child into a dog-, -old women" have been known to recommending taking a few hairs from a dog, wrap them In paper in which has been placed some spittle from the afflicted child, make the dog swallow the nasty mess, and lo! like the devils of old, the disease will leave the human being anil enter the animul. A very useful thing for most people to know, particularly those who dwell In large towns and cities, is that by holding In the hund the eye of a black dog all the dogs in the neighbourhood will be prevented from barking at the fortunate possessor. The difficulty, however, is to get the eye. Another Interesting matter connected with this subject is a calculation, believed in as lately as the seventeenth century, that "three weasels live as long as one dog, three dogs as long as one horse, three horses as long as one man." TTUJED- AS ORDINARY CRIMINALS. Superstition in the pant has decreed that not only can dogs be tried as ordinary criminals, but they can be punished for offences. According to an enactment of iSolon, as Is stated by Plutarch in the life of this lawmaker, a dog that had bitten a man was to be delivered up bound to a log of wood four cubits in length. This, Plutarch remarks, was "an agreeable contrivance for security against sui-h an animal." In 1604, during the witch persecutions at Salem, New Kngland, a dog was strangely afflicted, and was found guilty of having been ridden by a warlock. The dog, on this ridiculous charge, was duly hanged. Another dog. In the same century, was accused of afflicting others of Its own species, who fell Into fits the moment it looked upon them. This unfortunate animal was also hanged for the crime of witchcraft. USED AS "FOUNDATION-STONES." It ' as a somewhat similar superstition that prompted a sanitary ordinance of ICing's Lynn in 1555, which decreed that dogges and cattes are thought very unntt to be suffered In this tyme." An epidemicwas raging, which the intelligent aldermen and councillors believed was being spread by the domestic pets. The result was that the Inhabitants were ordered to take their "dogges and cattes and hange them, or kill them, and carrye them into come out place, a-nd there burle them," unless it were a "dogge of accompte," which might continue to live If it were kept chained at home, or when out was held by a string. Says the edict, "Thei •be Tery dangerous to infecte sound and clean houses," and so all but "dogges of accompte," and. those of "ignorant strangers,' 'as well as "cattes," were slaughtered lndlscximlna tely. Another superstition led to dogs being used as "foundation stones" for works and buildings to make them stable. It is related that when Floris the Third, Count of Holland, returned from having homage done him at Walchern, he sent the best workmen he could find to Flanders to restore the dykes, which were In a bad condition. One of the dnms could not be stopped, as It crossed a quicksand, and the men were at their wits' end what to do. At this crisis a Dutchman seized a dog by the tail, and flung it lnito the quicksand. Hastily the workmen threw faggots over it, and constructed their dam strongly and safely. According to Grimm (German mythology), cattle were prevented from straying by walling In under the threshold of the statue a living blind dog. BURYING DOGS AT THE FEET OF BISHOPS. But perhaps the most extraordinary of these dog foundations is that which, centuries ago, was built under the foundations of Peel Castle, Isle of Man. This dog was buried 'beneath the solid masonry for the double purpose of strengthening the foundation and making a "spectre" which should frighten marauders and unbidden guests from the castle. Under the name of the "Manthe Dhoo," this spectral dog was seen frequently In ancient days, but, though the story is still told in awe-stricken tones to curious visitors, the dreaded monster is never seen or heard. The legend of its last appearance is told by Sir Walter Scott iv his "Lay of the Last Minstrel," canto vi., as. Of customs pertaining to dogs it may be mentioned that formerly it was a common practice to bury dogs at the feet of bishops. This is supposed to have had an allegorical significance, that the bishops followed the standard of the Lord as faithfully as a dog follows the footsteps of his master. For the came or a similar reason, many of the Crusaders are represented on monuments lying with their feet resting on the side of a dog. Happily we live in an age when superstition no longer threatens the lives of our dogs. In odd nooks and out-of-the-way places these beliefs are handed down from sire to son, it is true, but the family dog is loved none the less for these tales of long since. In Crabbe's beautiful lines, we see the dos "With eye upraised, his master's look to scan. The Joy, the solace, end the aid of man; The rich man's guardian, and the poor man's friend. The only creature faithful to the end,"