The Argosy — page 297: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

About Dogs. 283 member of the party who may happen to be afflicted with a headache or weak nerves. Her mistress takes her on her lap, and begins to coun- terfeit the most extreme grief, sobbing and holding her handkerchief to her eyes. Hereupon Jarto stares into her mistress’s face, and opening her mouth, sends forth a succession of howls, each one louder and more shrill than the last. She knows perfectly well that it is all make-believe, and that her mistress is no more in real sorrow than she is herself ; but still she likes to make publicly known in this peculiar way, every evening, the sympathy that there is’ between them. Jarto has one stock performance which she will exhibit over and Over again, with the most unfailing gravity and self-satisfaction. Her mistress wraps round her a little scarlet cloak, puts on her head a twisted-up doyley, by way of a cap, and then sits her upright in the corner of an arm-chair. She is supposed to represent thus a monkey, and to say the truth, in this attire she looks weil her part. The patient, but also somewhat vain little creature will stay in this constrained position for many minutes without moving a paw, if only everyone mn the room will come and stand round and praise her. ‘Jarto’s heart is as loving as her brain is quick. One day her master and mistress came home from a long journey. She was busy in the back yard with a rat, or some other important business, and so knew nothing of their arrival. By-and-by, however, she trotted into the study and found her master seated there. Her surprise and joy were most touching. The poor little animal was too much overpowered with both to run and jump upon his knee ; she fell upon her back in a regular fit of glad sobbing and crying. It was as much an attack of hysterics as that of any fine lady ; only we fear, if tried in the crucible of truth, the lady’s hysterics would be found to be dross, and the doggie’s real gold. We will turn next to a little group of black-and-tan terriers. They have all shining black coats of different degrees of fineness ; all paws varying in their tan from patie gold to deep orange, and all brown eyes full of meaning. Yet, though like in many points of outward appear- ance, their dispositions are very dissimilar. First we will glance at James, the largest and least handsome of the trio. When he came, he was christened Jemmie; but there was soon found to be a sleek respectability about him which made the diminutive quite out of place, and so it was dropped. James was brought up in the house of an Independent minister, and throughout his life he has never quite lost the staid decorum of his early home. His gambols, when he indulges in any, are of the soberest kind; and when, for some small misdemeanor, he is told to go to his basket, he retires there and sits looking as meek as Moses. To say the truth, ' however, he is a little bit of a hypocrite. He will lie on the sunny doorstep with his eyes half-closed, as if he was thinking of a sermon, ecomniclooolkks _ (CO) iin