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, every moment expecting the one who had tried to curry favour with me, for I had an instinctive assurance that I had not seen the last of him. Night drew on while I was still on the look-out, and yet he did not appear. The rest of the family went calmly to bed, taking no notice of my disquietude; but nothing could have induced me to curl myself round and shut my eyes. I was sure danger was near, and it was my part as a faithful guardian to be prepared for it. So I alternately paced cautiously round the court, or sat up in my kennel with my head out listening for every sound. By degrees the returning parties of revellers dwindled to now and then a solitary pedestrian; and the hum of voices gradually subsided, till all was silent, and the whole country seemed asleep. Still I watched on, with unabated vigilance, deep into the night. At last I thought I heard outside the wall a very cautious footstep, accompanied by an almost inaudible whisper. I pricked up my ears; the footstep came nearer, and a hand was upon the lock of the courtyard-gate. I sniffed the air; there was no mistake; I smelt the very man whom I expected. Others might be with him, but there was he. Without a moment's delay, I set up an alarum that might have wakened the whole village; at any rate, it woke our whole house. Down stairs came my master in his dressing-gown; down came old John, lantern in hand, and red nightcap on head. Lily peeped out of her bedroom window, with a shawl over her shoulders; and seeing her papa in the court, ran down to help him,—as if she could have been any help against robbers, poor little darling! The servants assembled in such strange attire, that they looked to me like a herd of animals who had got into each other's coats by mistake. But the maids had kept their own voices at any rate, for they screamed almost as loud as I barked. It was a proud moment for me; and the greater everybody's fright, and the more noise and confusion they made, the prouder I was. It was all my doing. It was I who had called them all in the middle of the night. Their confidence in me was such, that at the sound of my voice they had all left their beds, and assembled in the courtyard in their night-gowns. How clever and careful they must think me! And how clever and careful I thought myself! I danced round Lily, and bounded about in all directions, till I knocked down the sleepy stable-boy, and got into every body's way. I never was in such glee in my life. 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."

After this adventure I was treated with great respect. By night I watched the house, and by day I was Lily's constant companion. We were allowed to take long rambles together, as her father knew she was safe under my care. I learnt to carry her basket or parasol for her, and to sit faithfully guarding them while she scrambled up banks or through bushes, looking for flowers. I was also an excellent swimmer, and could fetch sticks which she had thrown to the very middle of the stream. I could not make out why she wanted the sticks, as she never took them home with her; but we were quite of one mind about fetching them out of the water. Often I accompanied her to the village, and lay at the cottage-doors while she paid visits to the people inside. Then the little children used to gather round me, and pat me, and pull my ears; and even if they pulled a little too hard, I scorned to complain, or hurt them in return; and when Lily came out, I was rewarded by her praise of me as the best and gentlest dog in the world.

At other times she used to establish herself to read or work under a tree on the lawn, while I lay at her feet, or sat upright by her side. I was careful not to interrupt her when she was busy, but she often left off reading to speak to me, and sometimes let me keep my front paw in hers as we sat together. These were happy days, and I should have liked them to last for ever. But this state of tranquillity was to be disturbed, and I am sorry to say by my own folly.

I had insensibly imbibed a notion, or rather a feeling, that I was Lily's only pet and favourite, and that nothing else had a right to attract her notice. Of course I allowed her to pay proper attention to human beings; I knew that I could not come into competition with them, and therefore I never was jealous of them; but a word or a look bestowed upon an inferior animal appeared to me an affront which proper self-respect required me to resent.

One day Lily appeared in the garden carrying a little white kitten in her arms. I should have liked to have it to worry, and as Lily was very good-natured, I thought she had brought it for that purpose; so I sat watching ready to snap at it the moment she should toss it at me. After a time, I began to think she ought not to tantalise me by keeping me waiting so long, and I tried to show my impatience by various signs that she could understand. But to my surprise she was not only insensible to my hints, but took upon herself to reprove me, saying, "No, Captain, that is not being a good dog; you must not want to hurt the poor little kitten. Go farther off."

If ever I was affronted in my life it was then. I turned round, and shaking my ears, sat down with my back to Lily and her disgusting kitten, and absolutely refused even to look round when she spoke to me.

This was the beginning of a period in my life to which I always recur with shame and regret. I continued in a state of unmitigated sulks. Even Lily could not appease me. If she came to see me by herself, indeed, or with only human beings in her train, I brightened up for the moment; but if she appeared with the kitten in her arms, my surliness was disgraceful. Nobody knows how I detested the kitten. I thought it a misfortune to the universe that that kitten should exist.

On thinking it over at this distance of time, I honestly confess that I had no right to be jealous; Lily remitted none of her kindness, and gave me every proof of much higher regard and esteem than she bestowed on the kitten. She fed me, patted me, took me out walking, and talked to me just as usual; and as soon as she perceived my objection to her new pet, she left off bringing it with her, and was careful to keep it out of my sight. But I saw it in spite of all her pains.