294 DOG STORIES 



" I had the honour of the acquaintance of 

 Bob, the railway dog, and I must say that 

 he was one of Nature's canine gentlemen," 

 writes Hugh Kalyptus, " always self-pos- 

 sessed, dignified without hauteur, friendly 

 without being familiar, and courteous, in- 

 asmuch as he would always rise when 

 addressed, pay attention to what was said to 

 him, and never treat anyone superciliously, 

 as I have seen many bipeds do. Bob 

 made no difference between fustian and 

 broadcloth. He was what I call a well- 

 balanced Democrat, making no invidious 

 distinctions, but treating all classes with 

 courtesy, born of a correctly cast character. 

 I have seldom seen a man with a -more 

 marked character than Bob. Although a 

 notability, he never seemed conscious of it, 

 but would walk the platform of a station 

 anywhere between here and the end of the 

 railway system in a calm self-contained style, 

 like a person who had travelled much, 

 accepting the greetings of his various friends 

 as with the air of an equal, and it mattered 

 not to him whether a lord, a statesman, or a 



