EDITOR'S WALLET.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 49

EDITOR'S WALLET.

Mr Henry Irving and the Collie.

Mr Henry Irving was in Scotland two or three summers ago, and on one of his walks ho frequently met a shepherd with a fine collie. He took a fancy to the dog, and a few days before leaving, he said to the Highlander : " I will give you £50 for your collie." The shepherd seemed surprised at the amount offered, and was stru- k with sadnoss, for he was poor and wanted the money, yet he had formed so strong an attachment {o the dog that he could not bear the thought of parting with it. After delibt-ratino: for a while, he Gai3 : "Na, sir, I wpcl no tak the feefty pund." " Well.tben/'s-.id Mr Irving, " I will give you £60 if you lsk-j to bring the dog to niy hotel witbiu thn-e daja." Tho man stood loolnDg down ab his dog and was silent, and Mr Irving walked away. Ab the end of three days one of the hotel servants said that a shepherd had called to see Mr Irving. The Highlander and his dog came in, and the man said that although he did nob want to part with the collie, as he was poor and had a family to support ho could nob afford to keep a dog worth £60, and ho had decided to accept the offer. The poor fellow took the money and thanked .Mr Irving. He looked once very hard at the collie, which whined, acd tried to lick his hand ; then he threw his arm over his eyes ran out of the room. Mr Irving brought the dog to London, but the rumble of the city and the crowds in the street seemed to confuse him. lie grew more and more unhappy, and after a few days the great aotor began to regret his bargain, for ho

had only succeeded in making himself, the shepherd, and the dog thoroughly miserable.

A few days after hid return, Mr Irving took his dog into Kensington Gardens, and for a moment the poor creature brightened at the first sight of a few sheep that were grazing under the trees, but soon discovering that they were not his own flock, and that his master was not near, he relapsed into his usual dejection.

After this, it was very difficult to get him to take any food, and as he soon lost his fine appearance and grew lean, Mr Irving decided to (tive him his liberty.

So he returned Lim as a present to the Highlander, who afterwards wrote that the dog was so overjoyed to get back home that he leapt upon his old master's shoulder, and then ran about the hills so wildly that he (the shepherd) feared fora time that he would go mad.