40 



FOUR-HANDED FOLK. 



and hind limbs) sloped up at an angle of forty- 

 five degrees to the tail, which stood straight up 

 like a banner over his back, the tip sometimes 

 curling forward like a dog's, sometimes back- 

 ward like a hook. During the whole perform- 

 ance he constantly uttered a contented single 

 grunt like " woof ! " 



If any movement in the room startled him, he 

 broke into a grotesque gallop, bringing his feet 

 up closely beside his hands at every leap. This 

 gallop, which was rapid and light, always ended 

 in a sudden spring to somebody's lap, or a 

 scramble to the top of a tall easel, where he 

 looked around to see what had frightened him. 

 But if not disturbed, when his tour of inspection 

 was over he usually went to the open fire, placed 

 himself sometimes on the toe of a lady's slipper 

 if it were conveniently near, sometimes on a little 

 three-by-five-inch cushion on the arm of an easy- 

 chair. 



Here he sat up like a cat, with tail hanging 

 out before him, or fell eagerly to dressing his 

 peculiar woolly fur, which stood out all over his 

 body. He washed his face by licking the out- 

 side edge of his hand and rubbing it back and 

 forth over his face, and wiped his mouth on a 

 chair, as a bird wipes its bill, first one side and 

 then the other. Especially did he labor over his 

 eighteen-inch-long tail, scraping up the fur till 



