178 With Feet to the Earth 



crawled under a chair, and as she started 

 to come out her back scraped on a rung 

 of it This affected the sympathetic nerve, 

 and she began "fiddling" with great in- 

 dustry, first with one hind leg, then the 

 other, running her tongue over her nose, 

 as if to express her satisfaction ; and every 

 time she tried to get out the pressure 

 of the rung made her scratch with new 

 violence, so that several minutes passed be- 

 fore she could liberate herself. This back- 

 scratching appears to have some physio- 

 logical advantage. Poets are fond of it. 



Animals do not invariably behave well 

 to strangers. I have been bitten by curs 

 on several occasions, once while riding on 

 a bicycle. Clubs and stones are fit re- 

 proofs for that kind of dogs, and the am- 

 monia gun is perfection ; but if you are 

 friendly with a dog he will usually treat 

 you with distinguished consideration. A 

 savage dog usually has a savage master, 

 who will upbraid you if you dislike to be 

 bitten. Once a mongrel assailed me as I 

 was returning from a review with a rifle 

 on my shoulder. His owner shouted over 



