lling
a few yards in front, to look back, bark again, and encourage us to
proceed. "What an ugly brute! what a _hideous_ dog!" but as he engages
the attention of our party, these expressions become modified, and
before reaching the bottom of the hill, nobody cares about the remains
of Otricoli, nor looks any longer at the yellow reaches of the
pestiferous Tiber, that was winding far along the plain; the dog alone
occupies every thought. "Such a discerning creature! What clever eyes he
has! See how well he understands what we are saying about him; suppose
we take him on to Rome? We might get his grizzly beard shaved; his rough
coat would become sleek after a month's good feeding, his legs could be
clipped below the knees. Oh! he is full of capabilities. See! he is now
acting Sphinx, and looking up at us, as if he could delve into what is
passing in our minds, and would turn these vague suggestions to
account." Suddenly he sprang to his feet, barked, and seemed much
agitated; in a minute we, too, hear the sound of wheels, which his more
acute ear had already caught; as the carriage approached, his excitement
increased; at first he only barked back as if to entreat it not to come
on so quickly, but as it plainly did not heed his civil remonstrance,
the bow-wow became still more earnest in its expostulatory accents.
B[=o]w (long) w[)o]w (short). "Why such haste?" Then he tried his
eloquence upon us; and while reiterating his canine _accidente_ in his
own way at the horses now close at hand, his voice assumes an elegiac
whine as he turns to supplicate, in a tone that none accustomed to
Italian beggars can mistake; "_non abbandonatemi_," being plainly the
purport of its most dolorous and plaintive accents. We hesitate, the
carriage draws up, down go the steps, and lo! in a twinkling, our new
friend has darted in before us, taken possession, and there he sits
ready to kiss our hand. Such audacity was sure to succeed, so, letting
him gently down from the steps we left him to follow if he chose.
Follow! trust him for that! he bounded along the Appian way, barking to
encourage the horses, coquetting with a favourite pony, and winning over
our Joseph, by the time we had arrived at _Civita Castellana_, to let
him remain in their company for the night. Next morning he starts
betimes, nor permits the carriage to overtake him, till all fear of
being sent back is removed, by our near approach to Rome. Arrived there,
he at once finds his