IN BOOKS AND REAL LIFE 211 



of passages, and scented me out. He was either 

 so stupid or so sharp as to take it for granted I was 

 glad to see him, and began dancing gracefully after 

 his fashion, like Esmeralda's kid in Victor Hugo's 

 Notre Dame, another book you ought to read. Good 

 looks and pretty manners go for a great deal, after 

 all ; instead of being kicked out, neck and crop, he 

 was stuffed with the tea-cakes, and in five minutes 

 was rolling over the children on the rug. Talking of 

 burglars, by the way, if you want to persuade your 

 parents to let you keep a dog within doors, you 

 can't use a better argument than the security 

 against thieves. Dogs on chain may be drugged 

 or poisoned ; but housebreakers always survey 

 premises beforehand, and the boldest will never 

 attempt a house with a yelping terrier inside to 

 give the alarm. 



Dogs and cats have a natural antipathy, which 

 is apt to get the dog-keeper into hot water. It is 

 inbred and hereditary. The cat spits defiance and 

 bristles her back, then bolts, and the dog naturally 

 follows. Taking refuge on a wall or in the nearest 

 tree, she tantalises him beyond canine endurance. 

 Next time when he has his chance on the ground, he 

 goes in and takes his revenge ; though a cornered cat 

 is a dangerous enemy, and even when the odds are 

 three to one against her, she parts very hardly with 

 the proverbial nine lives. But even when dogs and 

 cats have not been brought up together from puppy- 

 hood and kittenhood, there is never any diffi- 

 culty in keeping the domestic peace. It would be 



