A naval officer visited a friend in the country. Several men weresitting round the smoking-room fire when he arrived, and a fox-terrierwas with them. Presently the heavy, shambling footsteps of an olddog, and the metallic shaking sound of his collar, were heard comingup stairs."Here's old Peter!" said his visitor."_Peter's dead_!" whispered his owner.The sounds passed through the closed door, heard by all; they patteredinto the room; the fox-terrier bristled up, growled, and pursued aviewless object across the carpet; from the hearth-rug sounded ashake, a jingle of a collar and the settling weight of a bodycollapsing into repose. {156}This pleasing anecdote rests on what is called _nautical evidence_,which, for reasons inexplicable to me, was (in these matters)distrusted by Sir Walter Scott.
