es Vixen
spy but a lubberly lad and a lot of small children ill-using a mastiff
pup. They'd tied a tin-kettle to the brute's tail, and were doing their
best to drown him. There's a pond just beyond Mrs. Farley's cottage,
you know, and into that pond they'd pelted the puppy, and wouldn't let
him get out of it. As fast as the poor little brute scrambled up the
muddy bank they drove him back into the water."

"Papa darling," pleaded Vixen despairingly, "Rorie has heard it all a
thousand times before. Haven't you now, Rorie?"

"It's as new to me as to-morrow's _Times_," said Roderick with
effrontery.

"Vixen was off the pony before you could say 'Jack Robinson.' She flew
into the midst of the dirty little ragamuffins, seized the biggest
ruffian by the collar, and trundled him backwards into the pond. Then
she laid about her right and left with her whip till the wretches
scampered off, leaving Vixen and the puppy masters of the situation;
and by this time the sorrel mare had allowed Stubbs to get off her, and
Stubbs rushed to the rescue. The young ringleader had been too much
surprised by his ducking to pull himself together again before this,
but he came up to time now, and had it out with Stubbs, while the
sorrel was doing as much damage as she conveniently could to Mrs.
Farley's palings. 'Don't quite kill him, please, Stubbs,' cried Vixen,
'although he richly deserves it;' and then she took the muddy little
beast up in her arms and ran home, leaving her pony to fate and Stubbs.
Stubbs told me the whole story, with tears in his eyes. 'Who'd ha'
thought, Squire, the little lady would ha' been such a game 'un?' said
Stubbs."

"It's very horrid of you, papa, to tell such silly old stories,"
remonstrated Vixen. "That was nearly seven years ago, and Dr. Dewsnap
told us the other day that everybody undergoes a complete change
of--what is it?--all the tissues--in seven years. I'm not the same
Vixen that pushed the boy into the pond. There's not a bit of her left
in me."

And so the dinner went on and ended, with a good deal of distraction,
caused by the dogs, and a mild little remark now and then from Mrs.
Tempest, or an occasional wise interjection from Miss McCroke, who in a
manner represented the Goddess of Wisdom in this somewhat frivolous
family, and came in with a corrective and severely rational observation
when the talk was drifting towards idiocy.

The filberts, bloomy purple grapes, and ruddy pippins, and yellow