the endeavor to attract or repel the extraneous. It would be
instructive to distinguish, by means of these involuntary movements of
men and animals, what is essential and what conventional. Away, dog!
Do me a favor and go home. What does he want with me? Evidently he
belongs to Werner's domain. The poor creature will assuredly lose
itself in the town under the dominion of an _idee fixe_."

Meantime Speihahn's attacks were becoming more violent; and now he was
marching in a quite unnatural and purely conventional manner on his
hind legs, while his fore paws were leaning against the professor's
back, and his teeth were actually biting into the coat.

A belated shoemaker's boy stood still and beat his leathern apron. "Is
not the master ashamed to let his poor apprentice push him along like
that?" In truth, the dog behind the man looked like a dwarf pushing a
giant along the ice.

Raschke's interest in the dog's thoughts increased. He stood still
near a lantern, examined and felt his coat. This coat had developed a
velvet collar and very long sleeves, advantages that the philosopher
had never yet remarked in his greatcoat. Now the matter became clear
to him: absorbed in thought, he had chosen a wrong coat, and the
worthy dog insisted on saving his master's garment, and making the
thief aware that there was something wrong. Raschke was so pleased
with this sagacity that he turned round, addressed some kind words to
Speihahn, and made an attempt to stroke his shaggy hair. The dog again
snapped at his hand. "You are quite right to be angry with me,"
replied Raschke; "I will prove to you that I acknowledge my fault." He
took off the coat and hung it over his arm. "Yes, it is much heavier
than my own." He walked on cheerfully in his thin coat, and observed
with satisfaction that the dog abandoned the attacks on his back. But
instead, Speihahn sprang upon his side, and again bit at the coat and
the hand, and growled unpleasantly.

The professor got angry with the dog, and when he came to a bench on
the promenade he laid down the coat, intending to face the dog
seriously and drive him home. In this manner he got rid of the dog,
but also of the coat. For Speihahn sprang upon the bench with a mighty
bound, placed himself astride the coat, and met the professor, who
tried to drive him away, with hideous growling and snarling.

"It is Werner's coat," said the professor, "and it is Werner's dog: it
would be wrong to beat the poo