BOUNCE, THE UNDERTAKER. 
MRS. LILLIE PLEAS. 
Having just returned home after a few 
days’ absence, I was awakened from a rest- 
ful nap by sounds which had hitherto been 
foreign to our homestead. On going to a 
back window I beheld the cause of the un- 
usual disturbance. A bull pup, young and 
fat, sat at the foot of the back steps, howl- 
ing for admission to the house. The comi- 
cal appearance of his round body, benched 
legs and angular head struck me so forcibly 
that I laughed aloud. At this he turned 
on me a face seemingly full of solemn 
reproof, then in strident but resolute tones 
he gave the rebel yell, and charged the 
steps. Becoming interested, I lingered to 
ed 
~ li 
a. .™ 

A BROAD GAUGE PUP. 
watch the result of his designs on the back 
door. 
He took the first step with little difficulty, 
but at the second he missed his footing and 
fell back to his first position. Without a 
minute’s delay he collected his forces and 
charged again, taking several steps with a 
grand rush. An attempt to finish the as- 
cent brought fresh disaster, for he made 
a false move, his pothooks failed him and 
he fell to earth again. After several vain 
attempts he sat down at the foot of the 
steps to reconnottre.. He gained fresh 
courage as he viewed the scene of his re- 
pulse, and soon went to work again with 
more deliberation. At last he reached the 
top step, but there a new difficulty con- 
17 
fronted him. The door was closed. There 
was no landing, and the footpiece was too 
narrow to accommodate even a small bull 
pup. Nothing daunted, he lunged at the 
closed door, but, alas, it yielded not. He 
fell back, and his. little round body seemed 
fairly to bounce on the steps as he des- 
cended, without a whimper, to sprawl at 
the bottom, defeated on the very thresh- 
hold of victory. 
This incident gave him a name, for he 
was thenceforth known as Bounce. 
Finally I let him in, and installed him 
as a member of the household, where he 
proceeded to make himself thoroughly at 
home. 
As he gained in size he became even less 
comely to look on. He acquired better 
control of his legs, and could mount the 
back steps successfully, but he lost his 
plumpness, and became in appearance what 
a sculptor would call “blocked out.” His 
lips looked as if the drawstrings had been 
broken, for they hung loose in_ several 
places, and his glistening teeth seemed to 
belie the friendly but almost imperceptible 
wag of his thumblike tail. 
The desire for occupation and diversion 
common to all puppies found peculiar ex- 
pression with Bounce. He formed the 
habit of gathering rubbish, or even useful 
articles trom the house, and burying them 
in a corner of the back yard. Rags, bones, 
broken crockery, etc., all went to Bounce’s 
burying ground, and sometimes good shoes 
and hats had to be rescued from an un- 
timely interment. His movements were 
always deliberate, and on these occasions 
he assumed an extra dignity. His face, 
serious at all times, would then wear a 
most solemn expression, so that he soon 
became known among us as Bounce, the 
Undertaker. 
On one occasion, while seeking material 
for a funeral, he chanced on a_ small 
wooden hoop. He had passed many an 
hour playing with this same hoop, and had 
seemingly become as much attached to it 
as any child to a toy. It had once caused 
him keen delight by accidentally rolling 
down a small incline, and he tried for half 
an hour to induce it to roll again. It had 
a mysterious way of entangling itself with 
his feet when he was at play with it, and 
sometimes it would rise up and smite him 
sharply in the short ribs; but now Bounce 
was wearing his “Here to-day and gone 
to-morrow” expression, and the hoop was 
doomed. He bore it with becoming dig- 
nity to a soft spot near the currant bush, 
and dug a hole. Then a difficulty was 
