le,
thin, little puppy came behind me, and gently pulled my coat. On turning
round to ask him what he wanted, he begged me in the most imploring tone
to come and see his father, who was very ill.

"And who is your father, little pup?" I inquired.

"His name is Lupo," said the thin dog, in a trembling voice.

"Lupo!" I cried out in surprise. "But do you not know who I am, and that
I am forced to be your father's greatest enemy?"

"I know, I know," the pup replied; "but father told me to come and seek
_you_, for that you were good, and would not harm him, if you knew he was
so miserable." And here the little dog began howling in a way which moved
me.

"Go on," I said, after a moment; "go on; I will follow you."

As the little dog ran before, through some of the low and miserable parts
of the city, the idea once came into my head that perhaps this was a
scheme of Lupo's to get me into his power. But the puppy's grief had been
too real to allow me to believe, young as he was, that he could be acting
a part; so with a stout resolution I went forward.

We arrived at a low and dirty kennel, where only the greatest misery
could bear to live. We passed through a hole, for so it appeared, rather
than a doorway, and I found myself in a little room, lit by a break in
the wall. On the single poor bed lay a wretched object, gasping for
breath, while a ragged pup, somewhat older than my little guide, had
buried his face in the clothes at the bottom of the bed. Three other tiny
creatures, worn to the bone with poverty and want of food, came crowding
round me, in a way that was piteous to behold; and with their looks, not
words, for they said nothing, asked me to do something for their
miserable parent. I procured from a neighbouring tavern a bason of broth
with which I succeeded in reviving the once terrible Lupo; but it was
only a flash before life departed for ever. In broken words, he
recommended to my care the poor little objects round. Bad as he was, he
still had feeling for them, and it was easy to observe that at this sad
moment his thoughts were more of _them_ than of himself; for when I
promised to protect them, he pressed my paw with his remaining strength
to his hot lips, moaned faintly, and expired.

[Illustration: CONSOLATION]

My tale is over. Would that it had been more entertaining, more
instructive. But the incidents of my career have been few, and my path,
with the one or two exceptions I have described, has