at the corner of the narrow entrance to a
square. His dog Jack controls the situation in his absence, and rules
with undisputed authority.

Such is the master's confidence in the dog's ability to manage, that
he has taken no pains to put the meat away in the barrow. A large cut
is left in the scale pan, and a basket on the pavement contains some
choice bits. Naturally the tempting odor has drawn a number of stray
street dogs to the place.

From his elevated position Jack surveys them as a monarch receiving a
throng of obsequious courtiers. As a matter of fact he is himself a
low mongrel cur, vastly inferior in origin to some of the surrounding
dogs. Circumstances having raised him to a position of authority he
regards them all with supercilious disdain. A miserable, half starved
hound approaches the basket with eyes fixed hungrily on the contents,
the tail drooping between the shaking legs, the attitude expressing
the most abject wretchedness. He is a canine Uriah Heep professing
himself "so 'umble." Behind is a retriever, uplifting a begging paw,
and farther away are other eager dogs. A puppy in front has just
finished eating, and, still gnawing the skewer, looks up to ask for
more.

Not one of them all dares touch the meat, though Jack moves not a
muscle to prevent them. It is a question whether an overfed,
tight-skinned animal like this would prove a very redoubtable enemy in
a fight. Jack's influence, however, is due in no small measure to his
sagacious air of importance. Seated on his haunches, he holds between
his fore legs the handle of the scales as the insignia of office. A
broad collar and a small leather harness show he has to take his own
turn in serving another. Ignoring the appeal of the puppy, he turns to
the group of larger dogs, regarding them with a contemptuous
expression of his half-closed eyes. He has been a keen observer of dog
nature, and knows what value to place upon the professions of these
fawning creatures.

[Illustration: John Andrew & Son, Sc.
JACK IN OFFICE
_South Kensington Museum, London_]

The situation inevitably suggests corresponding relations in human
life. It often happens that a man of inferior qualities is raised to
some position of authority which he holds with arrogant assumption.
Himself the servant of another, he delights in the exercise of a petty
tyranny. He is forthwith surrounded by a throng of flatterers seeking
the benefits he has to bestow. It is p