st all my life here."

"If some animals go to heaven and not others, I think that the dog has
the first claim," said Miss Laura. "He's the friend of man--the oldest
and best. Have you ever heard the legend about him and Adam?"

"No," said Mr. Maxwell.

"Well, when Adam was turned out of paradise, all the animals shunned
him, and he sat bitterly weeping with his head between his hands, when
he felt the soft tongue of some creature gently touching him. He took
his hands from his face, and there was a dog that had separated himself
from all the other animals, and was trying to comfort him. He became the
chosen friend and companion of Adam, afterward of all men."

"There is another legend," said Mr. Harry, "about our Saviour and a dog.
Have you ever heard it?"

"We'll tell you that later," said Mr. Maxwell, "when we know what it
is."

Mr. Harry showed his white teeth in an amused smile, and began: "Once
upon a time our Lord was going through a town with his disciples. A dead
dog lay by the wayside, and every one that passed along flung some
offensive epithet at him. Eastern dogs are not like our dogs, and
seemingly there was nothing good about this loathsome creature, but as
our Saviour went by, he said, gently, 'Pearls cannot equal the whiteness
of his teeth.'"

"What was the name of that old fellow," said Mr. Maxwell, abruptly, "who
had a beautiful swan that came every day for fifteen years, to bury its
head in his bosom and feed from his hand, and would go near no other
human being?"

"Saint Hugh, of Lincoln. We heard about him at the Band of Mercy the
other day," said Miss Laura.

"I should think that he would have wanted to have that swan in heaven
with him," said Mr. Maxwell. "What a beautiful creature it must have
been. Speaking about animals going to heaven, I dare say some of them
would object to going, on account of the company that they would meet
there. Think of the dog kicked to death by his master, the horse driven
into his grave, the thousands of cattle starved to death on the
plains--will they want to meet their owners in heaven?"

"According to my reckoning, their owners won't be there," said Mr.
Harry. "I firmly believe that the Lord will punish every man or woman
who ill-treats a dumb creature just as surely as he will punish those
who ill-treat their fellow-creatures. If a man's life has been a long
series of cruelty to dumb animals, do you suppose that he would enjoy
himself in heaven, whic