OUR DICK. 25 



to evil courses. When a cat once em- 

 barks on such a career, his case (for they 

 are mostly of that sex) is quite hopeless. 

 When you see a cat neglect his regular 

 business and spend his time loafing 

 around ash-barrels, or trying to steal 

 meat from the butcher's shop when the 

 butcher-boy is hard at work "stoning a 

 Chinaman, you may be sure that cat is a 

 " roofer," and cannot give a good account 

 of himself. You may readily suppose, 

 therefore, that a gentleman like Dick, 

 who had important affairs of his own to 

 mind, as well as those of his friends, 

 would have no such creatures on our 

 premises. 



It would sometimes happen that when 

 he was asleep by the kitchen fire and 

 Mary busy reading one of those funny 

 books that tell you what lots of money 



