236 
THE RAT. 
business would permit. On the last occasion he took him 
as far as Chelsea ; and when returning through Brompton he 
mounted an omnibus, for the purpose of giving him a run. 
The poor dog was following alongside, and looking up at his 
master, when a rival buss shot by, and, running over him, 
killed him on the spot. The grief occasioned in the 
district, as soon as it was known what had happened, is 
more easily conceived than described ; but suffice it to say, 
that a gentleman, to soothe the sorrows of his disconsolate 
master, presented him with a magnificent signet ring, with 
a miniature likeness of Jem in the act of killing rats, and 
encircled with the motto, " Every man has his fancy," most 
exquisitely engraved on the seal. The engraving cost eight 
guineas, and the ring eight more, which ring Jem's master 
wears in honour of the gentleman and his poor dog. 
That these dogs are not the properties of the humbler 
classes, the following will prove most clearly. Jem's owner 
informs me that it cost him scores and scores of pounds to 
bring Tiny and Jem to their state of perfection. This I can 
easily believe, from the fact that they knew so well the 
difierence between the words, liead and dead; for if they 
seized a rat by the hind quarters they were almost certain 
to be punished for their trouble. To avoid this, their 
master w^ould sing out head, which summons was always 
responded to by seizing the next rat across the head, neck, 
and shoulders. Then, when he sang out dead, the rat was 
instantly dropped, and another as quickly seized ; thus 
showing a great degree of perseverance and practice. But 
he tells me that Jem had destroyed over 10,000 rats. Here, 
then, can we calculate pretty nearly the cost of training 
him. In public he had killed exactly 5,100 rats, and that 
leaves about the same number for training. Now 5,100 rats, 
at prime cost, namely, three shillings per dozen, amounts to 
£63 15s. Od. But if an amateur purchases rats for the pur- 
pose, he has to pay the retail price, which is sixpence each, 
or six shillings per dozen. In that case the training of 
Jem would have cost XI 2 7 10s. Now, whether the rats 
be bought wholesale or retail, pray what man in humble 
circumstances can afford the expense ? No, the great ma- 
jority of real rat-match dogs are the properties of persons 
who can not only pay the cost of training, but back them 
