[ Duff-Gordon / Letters from the Cape ]
Duff-Gordon (1821 - 1869) was an English writer and translator.
This collection of letters was written by Lucie Duff-Gordon during her residence at the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Newfoundlands are referenced, indirectly, once (in Letter 10), in which Duff-Gordon mentions getting a glimpse of a troop of baviaans (a type of large baboon):
At some distance by the river was a great brute, bigger than a Newfoundland dog, stalking along with the hideous baboon walk, and tail vehemently cocked up; a troop followed at a distance, hiding and dodging among the palmiets. They were evidently en route to rob a garden close to them, and had sent a great stout fellow ahead to reconnoitre.
A similar comparison is made in Frederic Shoberl's Naturan History of Quadrupeds (London: J. Harris, 1834). In the chapter on monkeys we find the following: "The ursine baboon, when full grown, is of the size of a very large Newfoundland dog, and possesses great strength. It resembles the dog in the shape of its head. . . ." (II: 6)