Julia Charlotte Maitland

“ Shaking a paw with Craven was a thing I would not do; and my master, a good sportsman himself, entered into my feelings.
"The dog was thoroughly provoked by your bad shooting, Craven," said he, "and you will never make either him or me believe it was his fault. But try again. There is no necessity for you to be a sportsman; but if you choose to do a thing at all, you had better do it properly; and you may learn as well as any body else, if you will not fancy yourself perfect. We will all go out together to-day." ”

“ Nature herself did well by me. I am a fine setter, of a size that a Newfoundland dog could not despise, and a beauty that a Blenheim spaniel might envy. With a white and brown curly coat, drooping ears, bushy tail, a delicate pink nose, and good-natured [Pg 4] brown eyes, active, strong, honest, gentle, and obedient, I have always felt a conscious pride and pleasure in being a thoroughly well-bred dog. ”

“ I am content to shun danger and avoid blame; but it is your nature to meet peril and to court praise."
"You are rather inconsistent," interrupted I, somewhat nettled: "one of your objections to coming with me was, that you thought you could be of no use in London; and now you are wishing to be altogether unnoticed."
"I do not see any contradiction," she replied; "one may be useful without being conspicuous. If I can fill my own little post quietly, so as to please you and my master, I am content that no one else should even know of my existence. ”

“ But my master and John were quiet enough, and they examined the gate, and the footsteps outside, and decided that there certainly had been an attempt to break into the house, but that the robbers had been frightened away by me.
"It has been a narrow escape for them, sir," said John; "for if they had succeeded in getting in, the dog would have pinned them."
"Captain has done his duty well," said my master, "and no one can call him useless any more."
"It is a good thing no one was hurt," added Lily; "but I am glad they were frightened. Perhaps the fright will cure them." ”

“ I did myself credit, and my master did me justice, and I was happy in my ignorance of coming events. Craven shot and missed, and shot and missed again; but my master's laugh stopped him whenever he was beginning to lay the blame on dog or gun.
"Bad workmen always find fault with their tools, Craven," said my master. "Take better aim."
John tried to teach him, but he would listen to no advice.
It is seldom that a person's fault or folly injures himself alone, and, alas for me! I was the victim of Craven's conceit and obstinacy. ”

“ Lily took great pains with me; but after all, hers were but minor accomplishments, and I was not allowed to devote my whole attention to mere tricks or amusements. I was not born to be a lap-dog, and it was necessary that I should be educated for the more important business of life. Under my master's careful training, my natural talents were developed, and my defects subdued, till I was pronounced by the best judges to be the cleverest setter in the country. My master himself was a capital sportsman, and I was as proud of him as he was of me. ”

“ There are more in the world than I who would know how to do nothing but eat it. If I had been a wild dog, used to the habits of savage life, I might have hunted down some smaller animal as wild as myself, torn it to pieces, and devoured it raw; but I was a civilised creature, so altered by education, that in my hunting days I always brought the game to my master instead of eating it myself; and here, on the London [Pg 71] high road, there was not even game to be caught. ”

“ To point at a bird immovably till my master's never-failing shot gave the signal for my running to fetch the foolish thing and lay it at his feet, was to my mind the greatest enjoyment and the first object in life. ”

“ Though a polite dog both by birth and breeding, I was too honest and independent to show the same respect and cordiality towards those whom I liked and those whom I despised; and though very grateful for the smallest favours from [Pg 5] persons I esteemed, no flattery, caresses, or benefactions could induce me to strike up an intimacy with one who did not please me. If I had been able to speak, I should have expressed my opinions without ceremony; and it often surprised me that my master, who could say what he pleased, did not quarrel with people, and tell them all their faults openly. ”

“ I cared for no other dinner; indeed I never could understand how people could trouble themselves to eat anything else as long as there was a bone to gnaw. But it is fortunate there are various tastes in the world; and the strange preference of men for other food is convenient for us dogs, as it leaves us in more undisputed possession of the bones than if our masters liked gnawing them too. ”

“ And Pussy learnt herself, and taught me another lesson, that every body is one's superior in something, so that any body may improve by taking pattern by any body else; I mean, by looking for and imitating their good qualities, instead of picking out and snarling over their faults.
Time slipped away very happily and imperceptibly. There were few changes in our mode of life; though Pussy, from a kitten, in due time became a full-grown cat, who left off running after her tail and climbing up the banisters, and walked up and down stairs as steadily as I did myself. ”

“ We had now, in our way, a long conversation, during which we became pretty well acquainted with each other's dispositions; and in due time we descended the stairs together in perfect amity; I gravely walked step by step, and looking up benignly at the gambols of little Pussy, who, now in high spirits, had no idea of coming down in a regular way, but must scramble up the banisters, hang by her claws from the hand-rail, recover herself instantaneously when within an inch of falling headlong into the hall, and play a hundred other wild tricks. ”

“ Welcome guests on kitchen hearthstone or on drawing-room rug, treated as pets by the servants, as friends by our master, and agreeable company by his acquaintances, no animals have ever passed a happier life. Lily has often been to see us; and next to the pleasure of being once more caressed by her own hand, was that of hearing our story told to her husband by her own lips, and our friendship mentioned with approbation to her little son.
It may seem absurd to suppose that a human being can profit by the history of a dog ”

“ A word or look from Lily managed me completely; and her gentle warning of "Oh, Captain," has often recalled me to good manners when I was on the point of breaking out into fury against some obnoxious person. Willing subject as I was, I yet looked upon myself in some manner as her guardian and protector, and it would have fared ill with man or beast who had attempted to molest her.
As I mentioned before, I was not allowed to come much into the drawing-room; but Lily found many opportunities of noticing me. ”

“ Puss in the tree, her back showing high above her ears, and her tail swelled to the size of a fox's brush, puffing and spitting at her enemy like a snake or a steam-engine; the mastiff running round the paling on his hind legs, banging up against it on every side, and barking and howling with rage ”

“ Times were now altered: but I need not give a detailed account of every day. The good understanding between Pussy and me continued to increase, till it ripened into the warmest friendship. Uncongenial companion as she appeared, I grew by degrees fonder of her than I had ever been of any of my own tribe; and although our habits were by nature totally dissimilar, we learned to understand, and even to take pleasure in accommodating ourselves to each other's little peculiarities. ”

“ My love was for the individual, not the race. Dogs were numerous in the neighbourhood, and among them were several intelligent, cultivated animals with whom I could be on pleasant barking terms; but friendship is not made in a day, and these new acquaintances could not make up for the want of my cat. [Pg 65]
As I grew weary of watching for her in vain, I left off waiting at the hall-door, and passed my evenings in thinking about her, sometimes by the kitchen fire, sometimes in the study, on the rug at my master's feet. ”

“ Lily coloured a little, and said that she thought Rodolph's dogs beautiful, and that it was very unlike him to have any thing wretched belonging to him.
"Oh," replied the other, "he is the greenest fellow in the world. He is always satisfied. I assure you his dogs are good for nothing. I did not bring down a single bird any time I went out with them."
"Well," said my master, "I hope we shall be able to make amends for that misfortune. To-morrow you shall go out with the best dog in the country." ”

“ However, John had distinctly said that her papa was very much pleased; so we decided that human beings were gifted with greater powers than ourselves of bearing change, and making themselves happy and useful under a variety of circumstances. For we had no doubt of Lily's being happy and useful wherever she might be. I could as soon have fancied myself encouraging my thieves, or Puss neglecting her mice, as Lily idle or out of spirits. ”

“ But no bell rang; no carriage drove up; no sound of horses' hoofs was to be heard in the distance, though I listened till the gardener came to lock up for the night, and ordered me to the court, where it was my business to keep guard.
Next morning there was a strange stillness and idleness. No master taking his early walk over the grounds. No Lily gathering her flowers before breakfast. No John to open the stable door, and let me in to bark good morning to the horses. No horses; a boy sweeping the deserted stable, and rack and manger empty. No carriage ”

“ But no; people would persevere in being kind to me. I might be as ill-tempered as I pleased; nobody punished, or even scolded me; and whenever I chose to be in good humour, my friends were always ready to meet me half-way. Indeed, I never was quite sure whether they noticed my ill-temper or not. But I did not try to come round, though certainly sulking did not conduce to my comfort. I once heard my master remark, in reference to some disagreeable human being, that ill-tempered people made themselves more unhappy than they made others; so I suppose sulking does not always agree even with men ”

“ I also reflected that no one was born with a gun in his hand, and that Craven might not have had opportunity of acquiring dexterity; that there was a beginning to everything, and that it was the business of the more experienced to help the ignorant. So I continued to be as useful to him as I possibly could.
Suddenly, after a particularly provoking miss, Craven exclaimed: "It is all your fault, you stupid dog; you never turn the bird out where one expects it. ”

“ By and by came dinner, and a pleasant little meal it was. Instead of flying at the kitten for presuming to eat at all, I quite enjoyed having a companion. My platter stood, as usual, in the yard, and Pussy's in a corner of the kitchen; but by mutual consent we began dragging our respective bones along the ground to eat in company; and the gardener's wife seeing the proceeding, carried our plates for us, and placed them side by side outside the door, and we finished our meal in the most sociable manner. ”

“ Craven called, whistled, shouted, but I took no notice. I was too much disgusted to have anything more to do with him; and I never turned my head nor slackened my pace till I arrived at my own kennel, when I curled myself round in my straw, and brooded over my wrongs till I went to sleep. [Pg 19]
I kept rather out of sight during the rest of the day, for more reasons than one. An inferior creature cannot at once rise superior to an affront, and clear it off his mind like a man; we are slaves to our impressions, and till they are forgotten we cannot help acting upon them ”

“ The person I loved best in the world was my master; or rather, I should say, he was the person for whom I had the highest respect. My love was bestowed in at least an equal degree upon my young mistress, his daughter Lily, in whose every action I took a deep interest. ”

“ I have heard that greedy human beings sometimes reduce themselves to the condition of pigs, who are entirely devoted to cramming; but I should not choose to degrade myself to that level. So I soon began meditating, and cogitating, and speculating again. [Pg 40]
My life now grew every day more and more dismal. Dinner-time brought its bone, but bones soon failed to comfort me. The gardener said I was "off my feed," and his wife feared I should mope to death. All day I wandered about looking for Lily, and at night retired to my kennel, under the sad impression that she was farther off than ever. ”

“ Moans, murmurs, sighs, whines, [Pg 47] growls, roars, are sufficient to express our feelings: our thoughts, when we have any, we must keep to ourselves; for they cannot be made intelligible by mere sound without speech, and speech we know belongs to man alone. In fact, I suppose it is the power of thinking and speaking which makes him our master; without it, I am not at all sure that he would have so much the upper hand of us, for we are often the strongest. But a man can always know what he means to do, and why he means to do it ”