FRANK SIMS, the theatrical registrar, had a dog named Bob, and a
sagacious dog he was; but he was a pusillanimous dog, in a word, an
arrant coward, and above all things he dreaded the fire of a gun. His
master having taken him once to the enclosed part of Hyde Park next to
Kensington Gardens, when the guards were exercising, their first fire so
alarmed Bob that he scampered off, and never after could be prevailed on
to enter that ground. One day he followed his master cordially till he
arrived at its entrance, where a board is placed, with this inscription:
"Do shoot all dogs _who_ shall be found within this inclosure;" when
immediately he turned tail, and went off as fast as his legs could carry
him. A French gentleman, surprised at the animal's rapid retreat,
politely asked Mr. Sims what could be the cause. "Don't you see," said
Sims, "what is written on the board?" to the utter astonishment of the
Frenchman, who had never before seen a dog that could read.