was based on the selfish and ungenerous principle that physical force could only be used for bad ends, and was certain, when it existed in a superior degree, to be misused.

The only sound basis of modern diplomacy is not so much a material as a moral balance of force between nations, imitated from that between individuals in private society-the balance of honest men against rogues and burglars, of peaceable government against the roughs; a corporate balance of principle, and not of mere individual personal strength. Above all, as the people must now take part in diplomacy, they should learn a decent control of temper and language, and allow for their own ignorance of facts. Moreover, there is a decided want of plain, straightforward language in diplomatic communications. What a difference Lord Palmerston's style would have made at the present time. The policy which he deemed safest was that of honesty and candour, and when he had anything to say he said it in the plainest and most unmistakable language, as, for instance, when he wrote to Sir H. Bulwer at Paris:- "If Thiers should again hold to you the language of menace, however indistinctly and vaguely shadowed out, pray retort upon him to the full extent of what he may say to you; and with that skill of language which I know you to be master of, convey to him in the most friendly and unoffensive manner possible, that if France throws down the gauntlet we shall not refuse to pick it

up; and that if she begins a war, she will to a certainty lose her ships, colonies, and commerce before she sees the end of it; that her army of Algiers will cease to give her anxiety, and that Mehemet Ali will just be chucked into the Nile. I wish you had hinted at these topics when Thiers spoke to you; I invariably do so when either Guizot or Bourqueney begins to swagger; and I observe that it always acts as a sedative." And again, he says, "Nothing is more unsound than the notion that anything is to be gained by trying to conciliate people who are trying to intimidate us. I mean to conciliate by concession. It is quite right to be courteous in words, but the only possible way of keeping such persons in check is to make them clearly understand that one is not going to yield an inch, and that one is strong enough to repel force by force." The "great Eltchi" had also this distinctness of language; as Mr. Kinglake says:"Every judgment which he pronounced was enfolded in words so complete as to exclude the idea that it could ever be varied, and to convey therefore the idea of duration." And those who remember the bold statement made to Prince Bismarck in February 1871, by Lord Odo Russell, who had been sent to Versailles in reference to the Black Sea question, will recognise a singular power of language on the part of that able and experienced diplomatist.

J. HAMILTON FYFE.

CAP was the usual name of Captain ; its owner being a large Newfoundland dog just crossed with the stag-hound, making him the handsomest animal I ever saw, standing very tall, with elegantly curved neck and long silky ears that one could pull down and meet under his chin. His whole head was a wonder of dog beauty, with long nose and wondrously expressive eyes, which laughed or cried with you, always sympathising whatever your mood might be; ready for a romp, or to come and press his nose through your arm, looking up with almost crying eyes, seeming to wish to show his sorrow at your grief. He had

great tact, greater than many human friends, never obtruding his sympathy; but lying quietly down, his nose between his paws, he would watch every changing expression of face, till the time came when he thought he could offer tangible sympathy; then he would get up and come to you, seeming to wish by showing his own excessive love, to make amends for any shortcomings on the part of the world. And in return, having given his all, he wished the same, and could not put up with any division of affection with any other animal, scarcely with a human being; and his intelligence aided his jealousy in gaining the point. He always accompanied my father to the office, which was at the head of a very long flight of stairs, and there spent most of the day, amusing himself indifferently with looking out of the window and with the people coming to and from the office. One warm day, the door being open, and being much bored and put to it as to how to spend his time, he spied a black and tan dog which belonged across the street; acting on the impulse, he went down and invited him up; which

arrangement was very pleasing and satisfactory till, in the course of their play, Mr. Black and Tan jumped into a chair beside my father, who, attracted by the little thing, put out his hand and caressed him. Captain was very angry, and almost flew at the dog, then thought better of it, and bided his time. When Black and Tan got down, Cap was unusually amiable and frisky, playing with him round and round, always a little nearer and nearer the door, till, at the head of the stairs, he gave one great shove, and sent him flying to the bottom. And never was that little dog allowed over those stairs again. When he saw him coming, or when he himself wished for a play, he would go down and play in the hall below, or in the street, thus keeping full possession of his own domain.

He had a remarkable memory, recognizing friends by face or voice, though perhaps for a year or two absent, and would run, wagging body and tail equally, to meet them. But this was not so astonishing as his memory for things. Like all Newfoundlands he was passionately fond of bathing, and had a certain stick which he always carried to the water, and on returning put in a particular place in our back yard; for, mind you, he had a bump for order. He put it away for the last time in October, the water being too cold to bathe later: snow came soon after, covering it up for months; and it was late in May before it was warm enough to swim again. My father said, "Cap! would you like to go to the water?" He jumped up, said "Yes" in his way, ran to the door, round the house, over the fence, had the stick and back again, panting with excitement. Some one coming just then, my father had

to say, "Not to-day, Cap, to-morrow:" slowly and lingeringly he walked back and deposited the stick. The next morning, however, on coming down, Cap was at the door, stick in mouth, apparently having perfectly understood the cause of delay, and determined to be in season to have no interruptions this time. Of course he was taken to the water immediately and had a grand bath singularly this was the only occasion he was ever known to take his stick from its place without a particular invitation. Certainly he

understood.

And he read character to a marvel, measuring each member of the household, understanding what he could, and what he could not, do with each. With those who could master him, he never held out uselessly, but yielded with a peculiar grace, quite his own; with those who could not, why he mastered them! Not overbearingly, but impudently; and when requested by them to do anything disagreeable to him, would wag his tail as much as to say, "I'm not in a mind to, and I know you won't make me."

They even laughed and said he understood the politics of the family, and from his amusing aversion to negroes one would suppose so, as he could never abide the sight of that African race. One night a coloured man being sent to the house with some icecream, shrieks and a general sound of rumpus brought us all to the kitchen, where Cap had half torn the clothes off the man, who, with rolling whites, now stood petrified and livid with fright; Cap making fresh plunges, carrying off pieces of clothing each time. Indeed, it was almost impossible to take the dog off, so inveterate was his hatred. The servants, on being questioned, said the man had done nothing. But never did he see one of this race, even in the street, without hot pursuit.

This was in the war time, when Fort Warren was hung over our heads-so much for his pluck and party principles !

Beggars he looked on with a suspicious eye, and always watched closely, but never molested.

Little dogs were treated by him with contempt-not noticing their presence, or even insults, at first; but if too persistent and intolerable, he would give them a sound shaking, and throwing them over, would look off into space-quite unconscious-an expression inimitable, I assure you. In general he did not affect dog company; carrying himself with a grand air and great dignity, he would look at them and pass on. Perhaps a sense of superior intelligence caused this hauteur, more probably family pride; for mark you, Cap was nephew to the Prince of Wales's dog, the Prince, while in this country, having had the finest specimen of a Newfoundland in the provinces presented to him. Whatever evolutions of thought Cap may have had, the fact is the same.

When a child, I had a severe typhoid fever, and every morning Cap was sent with a note tied to his collar with tidings of my welfare to my grandmother. Nothing could distract him on such an errand; but, when arrived at the house, he would go straight and lay his head in her lap till the note was untied. Then, considering his duty done he would go to the kitchen, be fed, and inspect the dinner to which he always returned, if to his mind; but if it was to be of poultry, or game of any kind, they saw him no more that day.

My father bought Cap when a pup for us children to play with, and great fun we had. As we grew older he came into the house with us, our constant companion, my own especial friend and confidant. I told him everything, and he never peached. Thus constantly with us, and talked to, he learned to understand all that was said, whether directly addressed to him or not; and the following story is strictly true, incredible as it may

seem.

My father and mother were reading, and one of them, noticing an article

about water standing in a room over night absorbing impure gases, and being unhealthy to drink, read it aloud, and remarked, "If that's the case, we must be sure and see that Cap's water is changed every morning." He had water always in mother's dressing room, where he went and drank when he liked. Cap lay on the floor, apparently unobservant. The next day he went to a member of the family and asked for water; he had a peculiar way of asking for different things, so that those who knew him could tell his wants. She went to the dressingroom, and there was plenty of water. Cap looked at it, languidly tasted, and then looked up, thinking something must be the matter; it was turned away, and fresh water given him, which he drank. The next day the same thing occurred, and the next after, so as to be remarked, and an explanation asked, when the foregoing conversation was recalled; and never till the day of his death, three years later, did he touch a drop of water without having first seen it poured freshly out, though never before had he thought of objecting."

Captain slept in the house at night, on the broad flat landing where the stairs turned, thus having full view and command of everything; the doors were all left open, and every morning at about five he would go and put his nose in my father's hand and wake him up, apparently to tell him the night was safely past; being patted, and "All right Cap" said, he would go down, having completed his vigil, to await the first appearance of a servant, to let him out for his morning walk, which was usually short. Just before going to bed he also took a walk, which was not so sure to be short, if the night was pleasant-unless requested to return soon; he would then come back almost immediately.

Whenever my father went away, he would lie at the foot of my mother's bed, realising there was a change, and that she needed protection.

He was essentially companionable, and could not tolerate being left alone, -not that I think he had sins to think of that made him unhappy, but he loved company, and would follow me miles on a walk; and it was on one of these walks, when I was older and alas he too, that his first signs of advancing age showed themselves. The day was very warm, and Cap accompanied me to take a lesson some distance out of town. During the lesson he asked for water, which when brought he could scarcely reach, his hind legs being almost powerless. His endeavours to walk were most agonizing; he looking to me uncomprehending the cause, and asking for help. After a while he was better, and I started to walk home with him, there being no carriage or other conveyance obtainable in the place. We had gone but a short distance when Cap again wanted water, and I stopped at the country grocery store to get some. They brought it from the back of the store, but he could not drink, and lay down quite overcome. My own misery was intense, for I thought him dying. There was the usual gathering of a corner store, who all tried to console me with accounts of their dogs. One voluble Yankee told of his. "The little black one with white spots, you knowed him, you know!" I suppose I looked a little blank, for he said: "Anyhow, Jim did!" turning to the store-keeper for corroboration. "Wall, he got a-foul a toad one day, and was just so. He'll come out on it all right." Every one stopped who passed, till quite a crowd collected, each one with his own theory. In time a teamster with his dray loaded with lumber was passing, whom I hailed, told the necessities of the case, and he consented to unload his timber by the side of the road and take Cap home. The timber being taken off and Captain put in its place, the teamster started. Cap began to try to wriggle himself off the dray, not liking the distance between him and me on the side walk. He would have infallibly fallen off

between the wheels, so the man stopped-it was no go. I then got on and he made no further objection, so we journeyed into town, I holding an umbrella over his head, little thinking of the figure I cut !

When arrived at home, the veterinary surgeon was called, but not being able to attend immediately, father thinking Cap poisoned, applied all sorts of known antidotes. Among others, oil was poured down his throat, and in the resistance he bit my father-not viciously, but naturally, for who does not remember the days when some one held our noses, and another some one poured the detested castor oil down, and what vigorous remonstrances we made? When the surgeon came, he pronounced it a slight attack paralysis, and we knew we should not have Cap much longer. He recovered though, and went about for a time as usual.

of

The garden was a delight to him, filled with fruit and flowers. One would think he really had a sense of the beautiful to see him stop at a rose bush and contemplate it. Indeed he did his best to keep things in order by not running across lots, but always in the paths with the utmost propriety. Fruit of all kinds he liked, especially gooseberries, which he picked for himself with great care, holding up his lips

and turning his head under the branch, then carefully pulling them off one by one. But if any one was in the garden, not he! That must be done for him. He would follow me from bush to bush, and if by chance I was more greedy than he thought proper, would get up, nudge me, and lie down again, reminding me of his presence, and that he must have his share.

In January of 1872 one evening Cap had gone for his walk; my sister passing through the hall heard a faint rap, and going to the door, Cap came in and up stairs. Noticing something strange in his walk, she called father, who came out of the library and spoke. Cap hearing his voice, ran to the stairs, and on attempting to descend fell headlong, and only stopped at the landing. We all knew what was the matter. Going up stairs my father put his arms under him, I behind, and we brought him down. There he lay, and could not bear to have us leave him, growing worse all the time, but responding to our caresses by a wag of the tail-less and less-till the very last, when only an inch moved; the rest of the body being quite stiff and rigid, and as the day left us, so did Captain.

THOS. K. WILLIAMS.

Portland, Maine, U.S.A.