MEERKATS. 167 



meerkats our favourite, of course and, all uncon- 

 scious of what he was doing, crushed and suffocated 

 the poor little fellow. Though no one thought of 

 blaming Toto for what was purely accidental, he 

 instantly and completely realized that he had caused 

 the death; and as we stood lamenting over the flat- 

 tened little body, the poor old dog's distress was most 

 pathetic. He seemed quite overcome with shame ; and 

 as he stole from one of us to the other, timidly licking 

 our hands, his expressive face pleaded eloquently for 

 the forgiveness he had no need to ask. With all our 

 efforts to reassure him it was a long time before his 

 sensitive conscience recovered from the shock. The 

 surviving little brother lived to a good old age, came 

 home with us, and succumbed at last to the severities 

 of an English winter. 



The variety of character in our numerous meerkats 

 formed quite an amusing study. They differed as much 

 as human beings, and among them all there was but 

 one which was stupid. He, poor fellow, met with 

 injuries in early life at the hands of one of the cruel 

 boys who looked after the little ostriches ; who, in a 

 passion with him for getting in the way, picked him 

 up and flung him across the kitchen. He landed in a 

 saucepan, received spinal damage, and grew up stunted 

 in mind and body. And when, one day, he came 

 suddenly to his end by tumbling into that disappoint- 

 ing fountain-basin of which mention has been made, 

 we felt that on the whole it was rather a happy 

 release. 



