318 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

prettiest of these stories is that of a gander in Germany whe
used to lead a blind woman to church, taking the corner of
her apron in his beak, and wait quietly in the churchyard
until the service was over to conduct her home again.
Another goose was known to have a great affection for
soldiers and to regularly perform sentry duty, walking back-
wards and forwards for hours with his red-coated friends.
The Goose and A more singular friendship than any perhaps,

the Dog. was that existing between a goose and a dog,
thus described in “The Philosophical Magazine” :—

“A species of goose, a native of Africa, belonging to a
person in Scotland, was observed some time ago to pay
particular attention to a dog which was chained up; a dog
which had previously manifested a great dislike to poultry,
never allowing them to come within reach of his chain. The
goose, finding she had nothing to fear from her canine friend,
would enter his kennel, in the centre of which, among the
straw, she made her nest and deposited her eggs, which was
not known till one of the family mentioned that the goose
slept in the dog’s bosom. The singularity of the circumstance
led to an examination of the box, but not without the
greatest reluctance on the part of the dog, who appeared
determined to protect what was left to his charge. On
removing the straw, five eggs were discovered in a fine bed
of down and feathers. The dog was in the habit of going
into his box with the greatest care, for fear of injuring
the eggs.”

The Maternal) The Rev. C. A. Bury gives a pathetic illustra-
Instinct ofthe tion of the maternal instinct of the goose:—

Pa -Goose: “An old goose, that had been fora fortnight
hatching in a farmer’s kitchen was perceived on a sudden —
to -be taken violently ill. She soon after left the nest, and
repaired to an outhouse where there was a young goose of
the first year, which she brought with her into the kitchen.
The young one immediately scrambled into the old one’s