must have
worked in the painter's department, and had been familiar with putty;
hence he drew the epithet, into whose signification I did not care to
inquire. "White-birch-looking!" I suppose he referred to the impression
of imbecility which we have in seeing a perfectly white tree in the
woods among the deep green of the sturdier trees. He may have referred
to the effect of sedentary habits on my complexion. However, I soon
forgot the particulars of his insulting address, retaining only the
impression that I had suffered, and that willingly, in the bleeding
cause of freedom.

It was a great relief to me that, just at that moment, a very fine dog
approached me and fawned upon me, then ran ahead, and seemed afraid that
I should send him back. After a while I tried to drive him away, but he
insisted on following me, and I have no doubt that I might have secured
him, had I wished to do so. I was not a little inclined, at one time, to
take him home with me, and to keep him as a companion in my walks. But
he had a collar with his own name, Bruno, upon it, and the name of his
owner. The question of right occurred to me. I debated it. Applying some
of the self-evident truths established by our own Independence, I almost
persuaded myself that I might rightfully take the dog. I reasoned thus:
1. All dogs are born free and equal. 2. They have an inalienable right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 3. All governments
derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. These
principles, breathed in, from childhood, with the atmosphere of our
glorious "Fourth," I did not hesitate to apply in the case of the dog. I
do not know what practical conclusion I might have arrived at, but
suddenly I lost sight of Bruno in consequence of a new adventure, in the
process of which he disappeared.

A matronly looking lady came suddenly out of a gate, with a cup in one
hand containing a teaspoon, and a brown earthen mug in the other hand.
She pushed the gate open before her, easily; but I saw that she was
embarrassed about shutting it. I stepped forward and assisted her.

"Some kind office for the sick, I dare say," said I.

"A woman in that plastered house is very sick," said she; "I have just
fixed some marsh-mallow for her, to see if it will ease her cough. Sorry
to trouble you, sir, but my cup was so full that I could not use my
hands."

"I suppose," said I, "madam, if you will allow me to detain you a
moment,"--