170 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



you. Pat him on the head and break branches 

 of the oak for him, and observe with what bliss 

 you have filled his soul. And, after an hour of 

 such treatment, see if the " blues " have not de- 

 parted. Whither ? Upward, perhaps, to form 

 part of the sky. Of course there may be draw- 

 backs to this treatment. The grass may be damp, 

 and you may get rheumatism, but that is your own 

 fault. The axiom I set out to state is that in 

 cases of " nerves," the companionship of animals 

 is a sort of anodyne. 



They look up at you with a sort of humbleness 

 or audacity as suits their respective personalities. 

 And when two black kids dance for you the 

 cachucha, or whatever else you may call that ex- 

 traordinarily graceful exercise that young goats 

 caper through, you feel mightily pleased. Thor 

 himself, you reflect, was drawn in a chariot by 

 two goats, Tanngnjost, the " teeth-gnasher," and 

 Tanngrisner, "fire-flashing teeth." You hardly 

 attempt to pronounce the names of those animals, 

 even to yourself, but you wonder if in that Scan- 

 dinavian myth there does not lurk the recogni- 

 tion of the fact that the grandest personages may 

 find comfort in the society of animals. For that 

 matter, lower creatures than animals can bring 

 consoling diversion to the mind, for reptiles and 

 insects have powers of amusing unsuspected by 

 those who have never watched them. 



