under a sofa-cushion. Yet Rouser was praised 

 to his innocent face for superhuman clever- 

 ness. His talents were loudly vaunted, and 

 his solemn efforts to destroy a stocking or 

 to tatter a hearthrug were attributed to the 

 deep designs of genius rather than to an in- 

 born capacity for mischief. Worry was the 

 meekest and kindest dog in the world, and 

 she spent much of her day lying curled up 

 in comfortable places. We -were asked to 

 believe that Worry had an almost Satanic 

 faculty for intrigue and wickedness, and when 

 she was merely resting she was supposed to be 

 scheming new plans of perversity. I am bound 

 to say that the genuine characters of these dogs 

 were never affected by all these imputations. 

 They remained true dogs to the end. 

 %& Here I must pause, though my list is by no 

 means exhausted, for I have known and loved 

 nearly every sort of dog : Homo sum ; canini 

 nihil a me alienum puto. But what I have said 

 is sufficient. Besides, Duke, the Great Dane, 

 and Soo-ti, the Pekinese, who are sharing my 

 27 SS room 



