Chapter 2

And so we all went out together on that fatal day. 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. At his next fire I felt a pang that I never can forget. His ill-directed shot had entered my shoulder, and I sank down howling with agony. My companions instantly surrounded me, uttering exclamations of alarm, regret, and pity, Craven himself being the foremost and loudest. He never should forgive himself, he said; it was all his awkwardness and stupidity; he was never so sorry for any thing in his life.

He ran to a neighbouring cottage for a shutter, while my master and John bound up the wound. They then placed me carefully on the shutter, and carried me home, Craven reproaching himself and pitying me every time he opened his lips. I scarcely knew him for the same person who had been so conceited and supercilious half an hour before; and even my master, who was extremely angry with him, grew softened by his penitence.

They carried me two at a time, in turn; and when Craven was walking by my side, he stroked my head, saying, "Poor Captain, how I wish I could do any thing to relieve you! if you could but understand how grieved and ashamed I am, I think you would forgive me."

Though suffering greatly, I could not but be touched by his sorrow; and when I heard the kind tones of his voice, and saw tears standing in his eyes, my anger quite melted away, and I licked his hand to show that I bore no malice.

My accident confined me to the kennel for a 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, 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. It was incessantly intruding itself upon my notice, sometimes on the roof of the house, sometimes jumping from a window-ledge; now perched upon a paling, now climbing the pillars of the verandah; and always looking clean and white and pretty, with a bit of blue ribbon which Lily had tied round its neck, as if on purpose to provoke me. Even when I did not see it, I heard it mew; and when I did not hear it, I thought about it.

I was miserable. To be sure I had no right to expect Lily to like nobody but me, and I had nothing to complain of; every pleasure and comfort in life was mine. Indeed, I think a real grievance would have been rather pleasant to me. I should have liked an injustice. I was determined to sulk, and should have been glad to have something to sulk at. 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 know it does not with dogs. It was a wretched time.

I continued to brood over my imaginary grievances, little thinking how soon they would be exchanged for real troubles. I had been discontented while every enjoyment was at my command, and now I was to wish in vain for the happiness I had neglected. And yet, in the point which I considered most important, I had my own way. I one day thought that if I were never again to see Lily caressing that kitten, I should be quite happy. I never again saw Lily caressing the kitten, and from that day my real sorrows began.

There was a bustle in the house. Every thing seemed in confusion. Every body was doing something different from usual. Furniture and trunks were carried up and down stairs. My master's study was full of great chests; and he and Lily, instead of reading the books, spent all their time in hiding them in these chests. Next, my friend John came and nailed covers on the chests. After the first was nailed down, I jumped upon it, and sat watching John while he hammered the others; switching my tail, and winking my eyes at every stroke of his hammer, rather surprised at all that went on, but yet liking the bustle.

"Ah, poor old boy," said John, "I wonder how you'll take it."

"Take what?" thought I, and wondered too.

One day, John and another man went out with the horses, each riding on one and leading another. Thinking they were going to exercise them, I followed as I often did; but when we came to the end of the village John ordered me home, saying, "Good bye, Captain. Don't forget us, old fellow." I returned according to his command, but felt very much puzzled, as John had never before sent me home.

On arriving at the house, a waggon was standing at the door, piled up to a great height with chests and packages; and on the top of all was perched an ugly cur, barking as if he considered himself the master of everything. I was willing to make a civil acquaintance with him, but the little mongrel had the audacity to bark at _me_,--me in my own dominions! I did not think he was worth touching, besides which, I could not get at him; but I growled fiercely; and his master, who was loading the waggon, desired me to "get out of the way."

Thus rejected on all sides, I betook myself to the court, and rolled myself round in the straw of my own kennel, where nobody could affront me. There I remained till I heard Lily's sweet voice at a distance calling, "Captain, Captain!" I bounded forth once more at the sound, and met my pretty mistress in her walking dress, with the basket in her hand which I had so often carried. But she did not invite me to accompany her. "Poor Captain," said she, "I am come to bid you good bye. I am afraid you will miss us sadly; but I hope they will take good care of you. Good bye, best of dogs."

"Come, Lily, make haste," I heard my master call from the gate, and Lily and I ran towards him. He was standing by a carriage, with the door open and the steps let down. The gardener and his wife were near; he with his hat in his hand, and she wiping her eyes with the corner of her apron. Lily jumped into the carriage, her papa followed her; the gardener wished them a pleasant journey, "and a happy return," added his wife, and they drove off, Lily keeping her head at the window, and kissing her hand to us till she was out of sight.

At first I had no idea that they were not coming back. Though I heard the gardener say that they were "gone for good," it did not occur to me that that meant harm to us. They often went out for a day and returned in the evening; so at the usual time I expected their ring at the bell, and went to the gate to meet them. 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; the coach-house filled with lumber, and the shutters closed in the loft. No servants about. I rather congratulated myself upon the disappearance of Lily's maid, who had a habit of making uncivil speeches if I crossed her path in running to meet Lily. That maid and I had never been friends since I once had the misfortune to shake myself near her when coming out of the water. I confess I did wet her, and I did dirty her; but I did not know that water would hurt her coat,--it never hurt mine; and she need not have borne malice for ever; I should have forgiven her long ago if she had dirtied me. But whenever she saw me she took the opportunity of saying something mortifying, as, "Out of the way; don't come nigh me with that great mop of yours!" or, "Get along with you! I wonder what Miss Lily can see to like in such a great lumbering brute." I kept out of her way as much as I could, and it was now some consolation that she did not come in mine.

But it was a dull day. In due time the gardener's wife called, and gave me my breakfast, setting it down outside the kitchen door. It was a comfortable breakfast, for she was a good-natured woman, not likely to neglect Lily's charge to take care of me. I wagged my tail, and looked up in her face to thank her, but she was already gone without taking farther notice of me. She had done her work of giving me the necessaries of life, and my feelings were nothing to her. How I remembered my pretty Lily, and wished for her pleasant welcome.

After breakfast I went on an expedition to the flower-garden, thinking I might have a chance of finding some trace of my mistress in that favourite haunt. The gate was shut, but I heard steps, and scratched to be let in. I scratched and whined for some time; Lily would not have kept me half so long. At last the gardener looked over the top of the gate:

"Oh, it's you," said he; "I thought so. But you had best go and amuse yourself in places proper for you; you are not coming to walk over my flowerbeds any more."

He did not speak unkindly, and I had often heard him tell Lily that I was "best out of the flower-garden;" so I could not reasonably grumble; but his speech showed the change in my position, and I walked away from the closed gate with my mind much oppressed, and my tail between my legs.

I intended to go and meditate in the boat, but here again I was disappointed; the boat-house was locked; I had no resource but to jump into the water and swim to a little island in which Lily had a favourite arbour. There in a summer's day she often rested, hidden in jessamine and honeysuckle; and there I now took refuge, attracted to the spot by its strong association with herself.

I scarcely know whether I sought the arbour with the hope of finding her present, or the intention of mourning her absent; but I went to think about her. Alas! that was all I could do. She was not there. A book of hers had been left unheeded on the ground, and I laid down and placed my paws upon it to guard it, as I had often done before. In this position I fell asleep, and remained unconscious of fortunes or misfortunes, till I was awakened by dreaming of dinner. _That_ dream could be realised. I jumped up, shook myself, and yawned more comfortably than I had done all day.

On moving my paws from Lily's book, it struck me that it would be right to carry it home to her; and then once more the hope revived of finding her at home herself. It was the most likely thing in the world that she should come home to dinner. Everybody did, I supposed; I was going home to dinner myself.

With the book in my mouth, I swam across the water. Perhaps I did not keep it quite dry, but I carried it into the house, and laid it down before the gardener and his wife, who were the only persons I could see on the premises.

"Well, that is sensible, I must confess," said the gardener. "The dumb animal has found missy's book, and brought it back. Miss Lily would like to hear that."

"Ah, she always thought a deal of the creature," replied his wife; "and for her sake he shan't be neglected. Here's your dinner, Captain."

"Give him that bone," said the gardener; "that's what he'll like."

So they gave me a charming bone, quite to my taste; and for a time I forgot all my anxieties in the pleasure of turning it round, sucking, biting, pawing, and growling over it. 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.

But the pleasure of a bone does not last for ever, and among the nobler races of animals Thought cannot be entirely kept under by eating. 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.