he seized the muff which hung from her neck 

 and, prancing with delight, dragged her at a 

 great pace head-first in at the front floor, 

 through the hall, and up the staircase, where 

 I fortunately met and released her. His 

 genius for protecting a woman was not exempt 

 from a certain mischievous pleasure in teasing 

 and bullying her. 



% The same characteristic showed itself in 

 Ben, a handsome and ingenious retriever of a 

 later date, the dog 



'who now without my aid 

 Hunts through the shadow-land, himself a 

 shade. 



% Whenever Ben's master had to spend a 

 night from home, Ben immediately assumed 

 the close guardianship of a mistress whom at 

 other times he treate'd with some neglect. 

 He could not bear to lose her from view and 

 paced from room to room, sometimes in the 

 wake of her skirts, occasionally on them. 

 The mere ghost of a footstep roused him to 

 a growling devotion during which he sus- 



22 



