[ Metcalfe / The Oxonian in Norway ]
The Rev. Frederick Metcalfe (1815 - 1885) was an English clergyman and scholar of Scandinavian literature and language. An "Oxonian," by the way, refers to the fact Metcalfe was a graduate of Oxford University.
This book was first published in 1856; a revised edition was published in 1857 (London: Hurst and Blackett), from which the text below is taken.
The first mention of Newfoundlands in this work (which is in the first edition as well, in identical form) comes when a friend of Metcalfe's is awaked one morning by his Newfoundland fighting with wolves:
One winter's morning, his servant girl heard an unusual noise outside the house-door, and, opening it, saw two wolves in hot contest with a fine Newfoundland dog belonging to the priest. One of the beasts had fastened on the dog's paw, while the other was working hard at his throat. A dainty morsel, indeed, he would have proved, had they succeeded in their vile intent, it being well known that wolves prefer a little dog-flesh to almost any other viand. Fortunately, however, a broad brass collar had stood between the dog and the death-throttle. On seeing the girl, the marauders made off. They must have been severely punished, as there were traces of blood along the snow for some distance. (100- 101)
The only other mention of Newfoundlands — new in the 2nd edition — is metaphorical, referring to a walrus cub captured by some Norwegian sailros that "would jump out of the vessel after food, like a Newfoundland dog, and return on a given signal" (252).
This book is reviewed, briefly, in Sporting Magazine for December, 1857; that review specifically mentions, though it does not quote, the incident of the Newfoundland attacked by wolves.