im a wonderful anti-macassar, which, in spite of
all ridicule to the contrary, she asserted would do for the sofa in his
cabin!

Of course, Jupp and Mary came over to wish Teddy good-bye; but, albeit
there was much grief among the home circle at the vicarage when they
escorted him to the little railway-station, on the day he left there
were not many tears shed generally at his going, for, to paraphrase not
irreverently the words of the Psalmist, "Endleigh, at heart, was glad at
his departing, and the people of the village let him go free!"

CHAPTER NINE.

AT SEA.

"Well, here we are, my hearty!" said Uncle Jack, who was on the watch
for him at London Bridge station, and greeted him the moment the train
arrived; "but, come, look sharp, we've a lot to do before us, and
precious little time to do it in!"

Teddy, however, was not inclined at first to "look sharp."

On the contrary, he looked extremely sad, being very melancholy at
leaving home, and altogether "down in the mouth," so to speak.

This arose, not so much from the fact of his parting with his father and
sisters, dearly as he loved them all in his way; but, on account of poor
Puck, who, whether through grief at his going away, which the
intelligent little animal seemed quite as conscious of through the
instinct of his species as if he were a human being, or from his chronic
asthma coming to a crisis, breathed his last in Teddy's arms the very
morning of his departure from home!

The doggy, faithful to the end, was buried in the garden, Conny, Cissy,
and Liz attending his obsequies, and the two latter weeping with Teddy
over his grave, for all were fond of Puck; but none lamented him so
deeply as he, and all the journey up to town, as the train sped its
weary way along, his mind was busy recalling all the incidents that
attended their companionship from the time when his grandmother first
gave him as a present. He was a brisk young dog then, he remembered,
the terror of all strange cats and hunter of rabbits, but his affection
had not swerved down to the last year of their association, when,
toothless and wheezy, he could hunt no more, and cats came fearlessly
beneath his very nose when he went through the feeble pretence of trying
to gnaw a bone on the lawn.

Poor Puck--_requiescat in pace_!

Still, doggy or no doggy, Uncle Jack was not the sort of fellow to let
Teddy remain long in the dumps, especially as he had said there was a
good deal to b