FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   >>  
walk, he still barks a little at the outset, but thereafter begins at once to lag, and is found in an armchair when the party returns. It is vain to remind him that in the old days he was called the little black feather for the lightness of his gait when puffed along by the gusts of a fierce nor'-easter. Here is one of the complimentary stanzas that were lavished upon him by his young mistress:-- "Attend to your duty, My brave little Soo-ti, There isn't much sun in the sky: But we've sported together In all kinds of weather, My little black feather and I." It would be quite useless to lure him out with verse, and plain prose is equally ineffective when once he has made up his mind that he doesn't mean to move. One more sign of old age there is, which I may briefly describe. He is always much agitated when his mistress packs her boxes to depart to an institution for higher education of which she is a member. While this is going forward, Soo-ti will not stir from her room except it be to couch in the passage outside. Thence he re-transfers himself to her room, and has been known, when the chief box is full of garments, to leap into it, to pad round in a circle three times, and to sink down with a sigh of satisfaction on what was once a very artistic bit of packing. I do not say that this trick is entirely due to old age. Nearly all dogs do it. Only there was on the last occasion a special anxiety, and a more than usual persistence and querulousness which seemed to say, "Don't go too far away, and come back soon, so that we may meet again before my eyes grow dim and my ears lose their keenness." * * * * * "In future all unmarried men and women having an income of $1,000 will be taxed by the city. Married men will not be taxed unless their income is over $1,500,000."--_Canadian Gazette_. The poor fellows must have some compensation. * * * * * THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP. ["C.K.S.," in _The Sphere_, describing his numerous visits to GEORGE MEREDITH at Box Hill, tells us that in no real sense can he claim to have been an intimate friend; "but then," he adds, "I always make the test of intimate friendship when people call one another by their Christian names."] The use of Christian names, says "C.K.S." Is intimacy's truest test; but "George," When he was down at Dorking, (as you guess)
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   >>  



Top keywords:

mistress

 

intimate

 

Christian

 

income

 

feather

 
unmarried
 

future

 

keenness

 

special

 

occasion


anxiety
 

Nearly

 

persistence

 

querulousness

 

friend

 

friendship

 

people

 
intimacy
 

George

 

Dorking


fellows

 

truest

 

compensation

 

Gazette

 

Canadian

 

Married

 
visits
 
numerous
 

GEORGE

 
MEREDITH

describing

 

Sphere

 

packing

 
FRIENDSHIP
 

passage

 

lavished

 

Attend

 

sported

 
useless
 

weather


stanzas

 

armchair

 

returns

 

begins

 

outset

 

remind

 
fierce
 
easter
 

complimentary

 

called