into my little cupboard, ate about two pounds
of cheese and all the rolls, and _snuffed_ the butter). And another
trifling occurrence to-day. We chained him to the sofa, which, during
our absence, he _dragged_ (exactly as the dogs dragged _Mons. Jabot's
bed_) across the room, upset the ink on to the carpet, threw my
photo-book down by it, and established himself in Rex's arm-chair. It
was most ludicrous, for the other day he slipped his collar, and
_chose the sofa_ to lie on, but because he was tied to the sofa, with
full permission to use it, he chose the chair! and must nearly have
lugged his own head off. He does wonderfully little damage with his
pranks; there were wine-glasses, bottles, pickles, &c., in the
cupboard when he got the cheese; but he extracted his supper as
daintily as a cat, and not a thing was upset! Oddly enough, when we
are with him, he never thinks of getting into cushions and chairs like
that blessed old sybarite the Bull-dogue. But if we leave him tied up,
he plays old gooseberry with the furniture. I had been fearing it
would be rather a practical difficulty in the way of his adoption, the
question of where he should sleep; but he solved it for himself. He
walks up-stairs after us, flops on to the floor, gives two or three
sighs, and goes gracefully to sleep.... I wish you could have seen him
lying in perverse dignity in the arm-chair, with the sofa attached to
the end of his chain like a locket!!!

To H.K.F.G.

12th Sunday after Trinity.
_Fredericton, N.B._ August 16, 1869.

... We had a great scene with Peter yesterday. Rex has two guns, you
must know--a rifle, and an old fowling-piece--good enough in its way,
but awfully _old-fashioned_ (not a breech-loader), and he determined
to make old Peter a present of this, for he is a good old fellow, and
does not _cheat_ one, and we had resolved to give him something, and
we knew this would delight him. I wish you _could_ have seen him. He
burst out laughing, and laughed at intervals from pure pleasure, and
went away with it laughing. But with the childlike _enjoyment_ (which
negroes have also), the Indians have a power and grace in "expressing
their sentiments" on such an occasion which far exceeds the attempts
of our "poor people," and is most dignified. His first _speech_ was
an emphatic (and _always slow_) "_Too_ good! Too much!" and when Rex
assured him it was very old, not worth anything, etc., etc., he
hastily interrupted him with a _