THE MASTER'S EXPENSES 117 



but after all it brings us back to the necessity of bear- 

 ing the expense of a puppy show luncheon. 



It must be remembered that a puppy does a great 

 deal of mischief and takes a great deal of looking after 

 when out at walk. Next to a monkey, no animal is 

 more mischievous, and the puppy is sure not only to 

 purloin quantities of eatables from the pantry and 

 larder, but also to make playthings of such household 

 articles as dusters, brushes and sponges. I recollect 

 how a puppy that I once walked found its way into the 

 dining-room and there made a clean sweep of the 

 whole table, breaking several glasses, and making a 

 terrible mess of everything. Such pranks not un- 

 naturally occasion the servants great annoyance, and 

 this it is often difBcult to make good to them. But if 

 one member of the household more than another ought 

 to be the puppy's firm friend it is the cook. It is she 

 who gives him all his food ; it is she who lets him 

 sneak into the kitchen for warmth and comfort on 

 cold, wet days ; it is she who nurses him when ailing, 

 and who, indeed, often, by taking it in time, wards off 

 a bad attack of distemper. 



I once had a cook perfectly devoted to the puppies, 

 and one of these she actually nursed back to life from 

 a more than usually serious attack of the " yellows." 

 She had a basket placed by the kitchen fender, and in 

 this the little animal lay wrapped in warm flannel. He 

 eventually recovered and took his place in the pack as 

 one of my most trusted entry, yet he must inevitably 

 have died but for the unremitting care of that good 

 woman. 



