Chapter 4

Although I could not make out her history very accurately; but on discussing it with Puss, and putting together everything that we heard my master say in the garden, and John say in the kitchen, we came to the conclusion that Lily was gone to live at some distance in a home of her own; that Craven's good elder brother was her companion there; and that her papa was much pleased with the arrangement, though he lost her company. It seemed an odd affair to Pussy and me, and we purred and pondered over it. Puss confessed that she could not understand a person's leaving the house in which she was born. My views were larger. I could imagine being contented in any place, provided my friends were there too; but the separation from friends seemed an unnatural proceeding. 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.

In the course of the next day, John brought the carriage to the door again, and invited me to take a drive. Much flattered, I scrambled to the box, and sat by his side as steadily as I could, though the movement of the carriage was not much to my taste. Several times I could not resist trying to get down and run by the side; but John scolded me and held me fast, only indulging me with an occasional scamper when we were going up hill.

I had not omitted a good-humoured bark to Pussy when we started, by way of farewell; for she came to see us off, though she was too humble to expect an invitation to join the party. I fully supposed that we should return in an hour or two, and that I should have the pleasure of telling her my morning's adventures. But we travelled up hill and down hill, through strange villages and an unknown country, and still we went on and on, without any symptoms of turning.

In time we stopped at an inn, where my master had his dinner; and I went with John to the stables, and saw him feed the horses, and then followed him to the kitchen, where he too ate his dinner, and gave some to me. Then we set off on our journey again. Now I thought we were surely going home; but no; still straight on through new roads all day till the sun went down and the evening grew so dark that I could not see the country; and yet no talk of returning. John stopped the carriage, and lighted the lamps; and then on again, at the same steady pace, through the unknown land.

Tired of travelling in the wrong direction, as it appeared to me, and without any object, I curled myself round at John's feet and took a long nap. On waking, I found myself in a scene altogether strange to me. We were passing through the streets of a city. I sat up and turned my head from side to side, quite bewildered by the difference between such a place and the country villages in which I had passed my life.

"Ah, you may well look about you," said John; "you are not the only one that hasn't known what to make of London."

The noise and confusion were astonishing. Though it was now so late that every body ought to have been asleep in their kennels, the innumerable lights in the houses made the night as bright as day. The streets were swarming with people; men and women, carriages and horses, even dogs and cats, met us every moment. I supposed they must be a kind of savages, who came out in the night like wild beasts, and I tried barking at them to frighten them back to their dens; but it had no effect, and John bade me be quiet. Indeed, I myself perceived that it would be a hopeless task to bark at everybody that went by. Their numbers were like the autumn leaves falling from the trees in our avenue during a high wind, and I could only suppose that next day I should find them all swept up in heaps at the side of the road.

At last we stopped before a house; and very glad I was to be ordered to jump down and go in, and not at all sorry for the good supper that was presently given me. I was too tired even to wonder where I was, or to do or think of anything that night except going to sleep; and that I did thoroughly, after my long journey.

But next day I was myself again, and up early to explore the premises. What I saw at first was not much to my taste. I did not admire my kennel; it was decidedly dull, fixed in the corner of a small courtyard surrounded by high walls. No trees, no river, no garden; nothing to be seen but a square patch of sky above the walls; nothing to be heard but a continual heavy rumbling outside. I soon grew tired of watching the clouds, and pacing round the little court; and as soon as the house was open, I found my way to the street door. _There_ I could certainly not complain of being dull. If London had seemed bustling the night before, what was it now by broad daylight, with the full sun shining on the countless passengers! I could scarcely keep still myself, with the excitement of watching such incessant movement.

To my great disappointment, before long, John called me in, fearing that I might stray from the house and be lost or stolen. Of course, I obeyed him directly; but he perceived my vexation, and good-naturedly showed me a locker under the hall-window, where I might sit and study the humours of London at my pleasure. I thought I should never be tired of looking out of that window. The scene was so new and charming, that it reconciled me at once to my present situation, and even to the hours which might necessarily be passed in my ugly kennel. I really preferred it to the Manor.

There, even while my master and Lily were living with me, we were a good deal left to ourselves. A few foot passengers and carts might come by in the course of the day, carriages and horses perhaps once in a week. Visitors, if they came, stayed for hours, so that I had ample time to make myself master of their characters, as well as those of their horses and dogs. Every body whom I knew at all, I knew intimately; and notwithstanding Pussy's hints about rash judgments, I doubt whether I was ever really in danger of mistaking an honest man for a thief. But if my old home was more favourable to tranquil reflection, certainly this place had the advantage of amusement and variety. Here there was no time for studying character, nor doing anything else _leisurely_. I scarcely caught a glimpse of any one, before he was out of sight. A quiet nap was out of the question; if I so much as winked, I lost the view of something. The stream of comers and goers was ever flowing. Nobody stood still, nobody turned back; nobody walked up and down, as my master and his visitors used on the terrace, while I observed their manners; here, as soon as one had passed, his place was taken by another. I watched for hours, expecting that some time or other they would all have gone by, and the street be left to silence and to me. But nothing of the sort happened; they were still going on and on, crossing each other in every direction; and for as many as went by, there seemed always twice as many yet to come.

In time I grew less confused, and I went out walking with my master or John until I knew my way about the streets, so that I could be trusted to go out by myself and come safe home again.

The care of the house also devolved once more upon me; and it was a more responsible charge than at home, on account of the immense variety of characters which I was obliged to understand. As to bribery, whether in town or country, I was always incorruptible; but I found it necessary to quicken my powers of observation, in order to be up to my duty in London. I used sometimes to single out a suspicious individual in the crowd, and follow him through two or three streets, till I had thoroughly smelt out his character; and before long, I saw all I wanted so quickly and accurately, that John himself was ready to submit his judgment to mine. I learned to know my man, and to make him know me too; and it would have required a daring thief to attempt our house.

I own I soon thoroughly enjoyed London and its ways, and quite left off wishing to return to the monotony of the Manor. But though my life was pleasant, let nobody do me the injustice to imagine that either its novelty or its occupation could banish from my memory the dear little companion who had formed my happiness at home. Forget my Pussy I never did, though for a time I seemed contented without her. But, for the first few days, I constantly expected to see her arrive. I took it for granted that she would be brought to London just as I had been myself; and every evening, at the hour of our own arrival, I went to the hall-door, and sat patiently on the mat for a considerable time, fully expecting every moment that a carriage would stop, and that I should be the first to welcome my friend.

But day after day passed without bringing her. Plenty of other cats were clambering about the roof of the house, or showing themselves against the sky on the top of the wall; but they were all cross and spiteful, setting up their backs and snarling at me if I only looked at them. I had no wish to make their acquaintance, for there was but one cat in the world that I cared for. 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.

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. But the more I thought about her, the more I missed her, till at last I quite lost all my spirits. I could not eat my food without her to partake of it; I scarcely cared to growl, and took no pleasure in barking. In short, I pined for her as I had once done for Lily; and John and my master asked each other every day what could be the matter with me.

At last, finding it impossible to bear such a life any longer, I began to consider whether there was no remedy in my power. I knew that if my master objected to any thing, he did not lie on the rug and mope, but he worked hard to set it to rights. The more I thought about it, the more I perceived that mere thinking would not do; I must set to work and help myself. So I took my resolution, and determined to risk every thing rather than go on in this dawdling way, fretting my heart out.

But how? Why, how did I come here myself? People had tried to bring me, and succeeded; why should not I try to bring Pussy? I might not succeed, for I did not conceal from myself the difficulties of the undertaking; but what great enterprise was ever accomplished without danger or difficulty? At any rate, it was worth the trial; and if I _did_ succeed, Pussy was worth every thing. So, as she would not come, I would go and fetch her.

This once decided, it was evident that the sooner I set off the better; because the road not being familiar to me, it was important that I should travel it again before all traces of our former journey were lost. As yet, we had not been so long in London but that I had reason to think I should recognise the principal turnings, besides various objects on the road. I had been asleep during part of the journey, it is true; but I hoped that my acute sense of smell would come to my help when eyesight failed.

And here I reflected with satisfaction upon the many advantages I had over my master in travelling. First, what a much better nose mine was! His seemed of very little use to him up in the air, out of reach of the ground. If he had not been able to ask his way, I am sure he could never have found it out by smelling. Then, how inconvenient to be obliged to carry so many things with him! He could not move without a portmanteau or a carpet-bag full of strange clothes, instead of being contented with one good coat on his back. I never could understand why any body should want more than one coat. Mine was always new, always comfortable, suited to all seasons, and fitting beautifully, having adapted itself to my growth at all stages of my life, without any attention from me. _I_ never had any trouble with tailors, snipping and measuring, trying on and altering. My coat would dry on me too, whereas my poor master could not even jump into the river without taking his off; if it so much as rained, he wanted an umbrella. Then, he never seemed able to run any distance. For a few hundred yards it was all very well, but after that he began to walk; and if he made a single day's journey, he was obliged to be helped by a horse. Poor man! I pitied him; and yet I never for a moment hesitated to acknowledge him as my master; for, with all his detects, I felt that he was in possession of some faculty incomprehensible to me, but which overpowered a thousand and a thousand times the utmost animal superiority.

But to return to my own adventures. I determined to find my way to my native village as a dog best might, without delay. So the next morning I set off, following my nose, which was my best guide, through the intricacies of the London streets. More than once I took a wrong turn; but after going a little way up the street, I always discovered my mistake, and retraced my steps.

Once I met two gentlemen whom I knew. One asked the other if I was not my master's dog; the other looked round and called, "Captain! Captain!" I was very near wagging my tail and looking up at the familiar sound, but I fortunately recollected myself in time. As he was not my master, I was not bound to be obedient; so I held my ears and tail still by a strong determination, and trotted on, taking no notice.

Another time, as I was sniffing the ground where several streets branched off, I heard an ill-toned voice say, "There's a dog that has lost his master."

"Fine dog, too," said another; "there will be a good reward advertised for him."

"Humph, there's more to be made by him than that," replied the first; and as I looked up at him, I recognised the very man whom I had formerly prevented from breaking into my master's country house. I growled fiercely; and if he had attempted to approach me, I was prepared for a spring at his throat.

"He seems to have a spite against you; best leave him alone," said the other. And the two turned away, evidently aware that it would not be safe to meddle with me; and I once more pursued my journey in quiet.

Having my own reasons for not wishing to attract attention, I jostled against as few passengers as possible, and did my utmost to keep clear of inquisitive dogs or arrogant horses, so that I met with few obstacles, and before mid-day arrived safely at the outskirts of London. Then my way became much plainer; a country road, with hedges and fields on each side, was easily tracked; and I could hold up my head in comfort as I ran along at a good pace, instead of keeping my nose close to the ground for fear of losing my way.

I came to a place where four roads met, and there, though but for a few moments, I was perplexed. There was a sign-post, but that was nothing to me; it might have been useful to my poor master, but to me it was only one of his many encumbrances, which were superseded by my nose.

So I followed my nose up one of the roads; it would not do. Up a second and a third; still my nose refused assent. As there was but one road more, I had no further choice; so I troubled my nose no more, but galloped joyfully ahead without any difficulty on the subject, wondering whether my master would have found the way by his reason as surely as I by my instinct.

As the day went on, I began to grow uncommonly hungry; that is to say, hungry for _me_, who had never yet known what it was to want a meal. Accustomed to regular daily food as often as I required it, I do not suppose that in my comfortable life I ever knew what real hunger was, such hunger as is felt by poor creatures with but scanty food for one day, and uncertain even of _that_ for the next. But I felt that I should like my dinner; and, for the first time in my life, was called upon to find it for myself.

And, really, when a person has been accustomed to see set before him every day, at his own hour, on his own platter, a supply of bread and meat nicely mixed, with perhaps some pudding to finish it, and no trouble required on his part but to eat it tidily, and say "Thank you" after his fashion, it is no small puzzle suddenly to be obliged to provide his own dinner from beginning to end--catching, cooking, and serving it up. 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 high road, there was not even game to be caught. I really was quite at a loss what to do.

In course of time I came up with a traveller sitting under a hedge, eating a lump of bread and cheese. I would not have accepted bread and cheese at home if it had been offered me, but now I stopped in front of the eater and began to beg for some, licking my lips, and wagging my tail in my most insinuating manner.

He threw me a scrap of coarse bread, saying, "There's for you; but I dare say you are too well fed to eat it."

His supposition would have been true enough the day before; but hunger cures daintiness, and now I was glad of such a mouthful. I bolted it in an instant, and looked for more. He threw me one other crust, saying that was all he could spare; and, finishing the rest himself, went on his way, leaving me as hungry as ever.

By and by, in passing through a village, I came to a butcher's shop. The butcher was not in sight, and meat was spread in the most tempting manner on the board.

"How easily," thought I, "I could steal that nice raw chop, and run away with it! Nobody could see me, and I do not believe any body could catch me."

_Steal it_--the thought startled me. Brought up from my earliest puppyhood in the strictest principles of honesty; able, as I imagined, to see the best-stocked larder, or the most amply-supplied table, without even wishing to touch what was not my own;--was I now, on the very first temptation, the first time in my life that I had ever been really hungry, to forget all I had been taught, and to become a _thief_? Was it only the fear of blows that had kept me honest? Was my honesty worthy the name, if I was only honest when I had no temptation to be otherwise? I was ashamed of myself, and turning from the shop, passed on with drooping ears.

Presently I met with a dog so extra fat as to show plainly that he had never gone without his dinner, and yet he was growling over a bone as if he had been starving. On looking more closely at him, I perceived that he was in possession of two bones, either of them enough for one dog; but he was unable to make use of one, for fear of the other's being taken from him. So there he lay, with his paws upon both, growling instead of enjoying himself. He was a larger dog than I, but not nearly so strong, being grown helpless and unwieldly through long habits of greediness and laziness. I saw that I could easily master him and take one of his bones by brute force, and at first I felt inclined to help myself by this means. I thought I had a good right so to do. I actually wanted the necessaries of life, while he was revelling in superfluous luxury. Was I not justified, nay more, was I not bound in common sense and justice to take from him what he did not want, and give it to myself who did want it? Even if I robbed him of one of his bones, I should leave him as much as I took away.

_Robbed_--another awkward word! I paused again. Assault and robbery were perhaps not so mean as sneaking theft, but were they more allowable? The bones were his own, his property; given to him by some one who had a right to dispose of them; and though at this moment I might wish for a more equal distribution, I had sense enough to know that it would be a bad state of things if every dog were to seize upon every neighbouring dog's bones at his own discretion. It might suit me at this moment, but to-morrow a stronger dog might think that _I_ had too much, and insist upon my relinquishing half of _my_ dinner. Who was to be the judge? Every dog would differ in opinion as to how much was his own fair share, and how much might be left to his neighbour. No large dog would allow another to dine while he himself was hungry; and it would end by the strongest getting all the bones, while the poor, inferior curs were worse off than ever. So I determined to respect the rights of property, for the sake of small dogs as well as for my own.

After all, starvation was not inevitable. It might be possible to get a dinner without fighting for it. I sat down opposite my new acquaintance, and entered into civil conversation with him. I found him much more friendly than I expected. He had certainly been accustomed to more indulgence and idleness than was good for him, but his natural disposition was not entirely spoilt. He was the peculiar pet of a lady, who thought it kindness to cram him from morning till night with food that disagreed with him, to provide him with no occupation, and to deprive him of healthy exercise, so that no wonder he had grown lazy and selfish; but his native spirit was not entirely extinguished, and he assured me that a bare bone to growl over, and a little comfortable rain and mud to disport himself in like a dog, were still the greatest treats that could be offered to him. His temper had been farther soured by the spite and envy of dogs around him, who, less petted themselves, and not aware how little his petting contributed to his comfort, grudged him every thing that he possessed, and lost no opportunity of snapping and snarling at him.

When I reflected on the difference between his circumstances and my own, I felt more inclined to pity than to blame him; but though I condoled with him kindly, and whined in sympathy, I took care to give him the best advice in my power, and to suggest such changes in his own conduct as might tend to better his lot.

He listened with patience and candour, and showed his gratitude by treating me with the most cordial hospitality. He gave me an excellent bone, and offered to share his kennel with me; but after my dinner and a nap I was so thoroughly refreshed, that I preferred continuing my journey. He pressed me to call on him in my way back, provided I returned alone; but honestly confessed that if I was accompanied by a cat, he feared that the force of habit might be too strong to allow of his being as polite to her as he could wish. Remembering my own early prejudices, I had no right to blame him; and we parted excellent friends, though I declined his invitation.

I met with no more adventures or difficulties. Even my night's lodging gave me no trouble; for when it was growing dark, and I felt too tired to run any farther, I espied a heap of straw thrown out by the stable-door of a roadside inn, and I soon scratched and smoothed it into as comfortable a bed as dog need wish. By break of day I was on my travels again; and being now near my native village, in a road of which I knew every step, I had no further perplexity, and by breakfast-time arrived at my old home.