184 CALVIN: A STUDY OF CHARACTER. 



such familiarity with dignity and with no 

 show of temper. If there was any petting to 

 be done, however, he chose to do it. Often 

 he would sit looking at me, and then, moved 

 by a delicate affection, come and pull at my 

 coat and sleeve until he could touch my face 

 with his nose, and then go away contented. 

 He had a habit of coming to my study in 

 the morning, sitting quietly by my side or 

 on the table for hours, watching the pen run 

 over the paper, occasionally swinging his 

 tail round for a blotter, and then going to 

 sleep among the papers by the inkstand. 

 Or, more rarely, he would watch the writing 

 from a perch on my shoulder. Writing al- 

 ways interested him, and, until he under- 

 stood it, he wanted to hold the pen. 



He always held himself in a kind of re- 

 serve with his friend, as if he had said, " Let 

 us respect our personality, and not make a 

 ' mess ' of friendship." He saw, with Emer- 

 son, the risk of degrading it to trivial con- 

 veniency. " Why insist on rash personal 

 relations with your friend ? " " Leave this 



