irt. Anxiety for the fate of a purse full of
gold Napoleons of forty francs each gave redoubled quickness to his
steps.

"Caniche, having a good start, ran full speed to her master's house,
where the stranger arrived a moment afterward, breathless and enraged.
He accused the dog of robbing him.

"'Sir,' said the master, 'my dog is a very faithful creature; and if
she has run away with your pantaloons, it is because you have in them
money which does not belong to you.'

"The traveller became still more exasperated.

"'Compose yourself, sir,' rejoined the other, smiling: 'without doubt
there is in your purse a six-livre piece, with such and such marks,
which you have picked up in the Boulevard St. Antoine, and which I
threw down there with the firm conviction that my dog would bring it
back again. This is the cause of the robbery which she has committed
upon you.'

"The stranger's rage now yielded to astonishment; he delivered the
six-livre piece to the owner, and could not forbear caressing the dog
which had given him so much uneasiness and such an unpleasant chase."

"There is no doubt," remarked Mr. Lee, "that the character and
intellectual faculties of the dog are more strongly developed than those
of any other quadruped, on account of his being the constant companion
of man. It is a pleasing thought, the more that is known of his
fidelity, faithfulness, and sagacity, the more he will be appreciated,
and the better, therefore, his treatment is likely to be."

CHAPTER VI.

THE SHEPHERD'S DOG.

"Mother," cried Minnie, one morning, "will you tell me about the dogs
people used to have in old times, when the Bible was written? Father
read about the dog with the flocks."

"Yes, dear. The shepherds had dogs whose duty seemed only to be to guard
the flock from the attacks of wild beasts, and, like the Spanish sheep
dog of the present day, had nothing to do with the management of sheep.
Indeed, he seems to have been regarded with great dislike by the Jews,
and, if not carefully watched, was more destructive to the sheep than
the beast of whose approach he was to give warning. When he was not on
duty, he was regarded as a great pest and destroyer.

"Among the Arabs, travellers in the East say, this is the character of
them all; they are cruel, bloodthirsty, always hungry, and never
satisfied. His look is savage, and his appearance disagreeable. The
Moors grant him a corner in their tent, but that is all; t