Numerous instances of his sagacity were quoted and some of them exhibited on the spot.
Much surprise was excited by the readiness with which he appeared to comprehend sentences of considerable abstraction and complexity, though, he in reality, attended to nothing but the movements of hand or fingers with which I accompanied my words.

I enhanced the astonishment of some and excited the ridicule of others, by observing that my dog not only understood English when spoken by others, but actually spoke the language himself, with no small degree of precision.
This assertion could not be admitted without proof; proof, therefore, was readily produced.

At a known signal, Damon began a low interrupted noise, in which the astonished hearers clearly distinguished English words.

A dialogue began between the animal and his master, which was maintained, on the part of the former, with great vivacity and spirit.
In this dialogue the dog asserted the dignity of his species and capacity of intellectual improvement.

The company separated lost in wonder, but perfectly convinced by the evidence that had been produced.
On a subsequent occasion a select company was assembled at a garden, at a small distance from the city.