340 TO THE ME MOBY OF SQUOUNCEB 



or has his eyes open can see that it is not the good people 

 or the handsome people that have really been loved most 

 and remembered longest, but the people who have made 

 us laugh ! Why, even the most wicked and gloomiest 

 kings had their jesters, and often the jesters were able to 

 tell the kings very disagreeable truths, or to beg off some 

 poor wretch condemned to death, when a word from any 

 one else would simply have sent him to share the fate of 

 the criminal. 



Now it may be doubted whether, even if he had had 

 two legs, and had lived in the palmy days of long ago, 

 Squouncer would ever have interfered to snatch people 

 from the gallows. He was not (except where his food 

 was concerned) a very courageous dog, and he never 

 could make up his mind what he wanted to do, what he 

 ought to do — and no one that goes through life on these 

 principles will ever be a hero. Sometimes his master and 

 mistress used to amuse themselves with this weakness of his. 

 They would sit at each end of a long room, and one would 

 call ' Squouncer.' Squouncer, who had very early been 

 taught to come when he was called, rose at once and 

 started to obey. ' Squouncer,' said a voice behind him 

 before he had got half way. He stopped, listened, and 

 turned slowly round. ' Squouncer ' was again repeated 

 from the further corner ; and poor Squouncer halted 

 again, and looked piteously from one to the other, but never 

 thought of doing the only sensible thing, which was to lie 

 down before the fire and pay no attention to anybody. 



One dreadful day, a young black retriever suddenly 

 appeared in the house. There ought to have been nothing 

 disturbing in this, as the animal was friendly and playful, 

 and quite ready to be polite to Squouncer — who was an 

 older dog than he. But Squouncer's thoughts at once flew 

 to dinner-time, and so did his master's and mistress's, and 

 they determined to watch and see what would happen. 



And what did happen was this. The two large tin 

 plates were placed side by side in the tiled hall, each filled 



