182 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



the more spiteful, mostly — born of ill-usage. Some of these 

 pariah dogs, running wild everywhere, are of the finest 

 natures and finest tempers possible, though how they come 

 by them is a wonder, for they are usually ' against every 

 man ' as ' every man's hand is ' as surely ' against them/ 

 Several of our best-prized dogs had been strays. 



A man we knew, an Englishman too, had a very un- 

 English aversion to dogs. He said they always growled 

 at him ; nor was he ashamed to own it, like most people 

 would be, as arguing something amiss in themselves. Hav- 

 ing lived through a good half of his life in this frame of 

 mind, one fine day he with crowds of others was watching 

 a polo match. How it came on to the ground nobody 

 knew, but a very ragged, mangy specimen of a ' pie ' dog 

 did creep up — led by who can say what instinct ? — to that 

 man of all others, and put its muzzle into the hand hanging 

 at his side as though it were that of a friend. Instead of 

 starting away with uplifted cane, Captain H., as he told us 

 and others afterwards, felt a sensation of pleasure hitherto 

 unknown spring to life in his mind at the confidence placed 

 in him. For the first time in his life he was sought and 

 trusted by a dog ; no other had ever done that. He and 

 his aversion were widely known, and those who watched 

 the scene found it even more interesting than polo. This 

 dog did not flinch at the expression in his eyes, usually cold, 

 if not angry, when looking at anything in dog shape ; it 

 did not growl nor show its teeth, only stood its ground, and 

 was patted by the unaccustomed hand till its tail wagged 

 again ! That dog would not know it was unwelcome, nor 

 was it. When the match was over it followed Captain H., 

 who whistled to it like any other man to any other dog, 

 and many eyes watched the incongruous pair, for the man 

 was one of the best groomed to be seen anywhere, and the 

 dog one of the most unkempt ! 



Even in things pathetic the comic touch comes in. An 



