( 4^ ) 



CHAPTER III. 



I AM a working man, or rather have been till 

 I got the rheumatics, and as such I naturally 

 stick to my own class and prefer associating 

 with those of my own sort, and therefore I 

 always keep working dogs. 



I have often bred aristocratic dogs, dogs 

 descended from great prize-winners and with 

 long pedigrees, and among them I have had 

 some good ones, honest and true ; but as a 

 rule I must say my experience proves that 

 the shorter the pedigree the better the dog, 

 and now if I could get them I should like to 

 keep dogs that never had a father. Some 

 people I know call me a cad, a clod, a chaw- 

 bacon, etc., and they call my dogs curs and 

 mongrels. Such men talk nonsense and 



