Cat and Dog | Page 7

considerable time, but
every care and attention was paid me. My master and John doctored my

wound, and Lily brought me my food every day with her own hands.
As long as Craven remained in the house, he never failed to accompany
her, repeating his regret and good-will towards me; and after he had left
us I heard old John observe: "I always thought there was some good in
Master Craven; and his brother is as fine a fellow as ever lived, and
won't let it drop. The boy is quite changed now. Between Captain and
Miss Lily, I reckon he has had a lesson he'll not forget."
In due time I recovered, and was as strong and handsome as ever; but,
strange to say, I no longer felt like the same dog. My own sufferings
had suggested some serious reflections as to whether being shot might
not be as unpleasant to the birds as to me; and I really began quite to
pity them. So far the change was for the better; but it did not stop there:
not only was my love for field-sports extinguished, but it had given
place to a timidity which neither threats nor caresses could overcome. I
shuddered at the very sight of a gun, and no amount either of reward or
punishment could induce me again to brave its effects. Under all other
circumstances I was as courageous as before: I would have attacked a
wild beast, or defended the house against a robber, without the slightest
fear; but I could not stand fire; and the moment I saw a gun pointed,
there was no help for it, I fairly turned tail and ran off.
"The poor beast is spoilt, sir," said John to my master. "It is cruel to
force him, and he'll never be good for any thing again."
"It is of no use taking him out," replied my master; "but he is far from
good for nothing. He has plenty of spirit still, and we must make a
house-dog of him."
So I was appointed house-dog. At first I certainly felt the change of life
very unpleasant; but I reflected that it was my own doing, though not
exactly my own fault; and I determined to make the best of it, and
adapt myself to my new employments. At the beginning of that summer,
if any body had told me that I should be content to stay in the court and
garden, sometimes even tethered to a tree on the lawn,--that my most
adventurous amusement would he a quiet walk over the grounds, and
my most exciting occupation the looking-out for suspicious
characters,--I should have sneered, perhaps even growled at the

prediction; but so it was, and before long I grew reconciled to my new
station, and resolved to gain more credit as a guard than even as a
sporting dog.
We were not much troubled with thieves, for we lived in a quiet
country place, where we knew every body and every body knew us,
and no one was likely to wish us any harm; but it did once happen that
my vigilance was put to the proof.
There was a fair in our neighbourhood, attended by all the villages near.
During the morning I amused myself by watching the people in their
smart dresses passing our gate, laughing and talking merrily. I had
many acquaintances among them, who greeted me with good-natured
speeches, which I answered by polite wags of my tail.
John, and others of our servants, went to the fair, and seemed to enjoy
themselves as much as any body. They returned home before dark, and
all the respectable persons who had passed our gate in the morning
re-passed it at an early hour in the evening, looking as if they had spent
a pleasant day, but perfectly quiet and sober; and I was much pleased at
seeing them so well behaved.
But among the crowd of passengers in the morning, I had noticed
several men whose appearance I highly disapproved. Some of them
scowled at me as they passed, and I felt sure they were bent upon no
good; but one, the worst-looking of all, stopped, and whistled to me,
holding out a piece of meat. I need scarcely say that I indignantly
rejected his bribe--for such I knew it was--meant to entice me in some
way or other to neglect my duty; so I growled and snarled, and watched
him well as he passed on. No fear of my not knowing him again by
sight or smell. Several of these ill-looking men returned intoxicated, to
my great disgust; for I had a peculiar objection to persons in that
condition, and never trusted a man who could degrade himself below
my own level. I watched them all,