THE RAT. 245 



represented with a partridge perched upon her shoulder, 

 and a dog with his feet on her arm. We recognised it 

 as a representation of the lady of the house, but were 

 at a loss to account for the odd association of her com- 

 panions. She observed our surprise, and at once gave 

 the history of the bird and the spaniel. They were 

 both, some years back, domesticated in her family. The 

 dog was an old parlour favourite, who went by the 

 name of Tom. The partridge was more recently intro- 

 duced from France, and answered to the equally fami- 

 liar name of Bill. It was rather a dangerous experi- 

 ment to place them together ; for Tom was a lively and 

 spirited creature, very apt to torment the cats, and to 

 bark at any object which roused his instinct. But the 

 experiment was tried ; and Bill, being very tame, did 

 not feel much alarm at his natural enemy. They were, 

 of course, shy at first, but this shyness gradually wore 

 off : the bird became less timid, and the dog less bold. 

 The most perfect friendship was, at length, established 

 between them. When the hour of dinner arrived, the 

 partridge invariably new on his mistress's shoulder, 

 calling with a shrill note which is well known ; and the 

 spaniel leaped about with equal ardour. One dish of 

 bread and milk was placed on the floor, out of which 

 the spaniel and bird fed together ; and, after their sound 



