age, and
explained his difficulty.

'I reckon,' said Roger, after scratching his head, 'the gentleman
acted right in settin' down--though I've never had occasion to try
it, dogs bein' fond o' me by natur'. I've heard, too, that a very
good way, when a dog goes for you, is to squatty 'pon your heels with
your coat-tails breshin' the ground an' bust out laffin' in his face.
I tell that for what 'tis worth.'

'Thank you,' said the doctor. 'I will make a note of it.'

'It wants nerve, seemin' to me.' Roger Olver rubbed his chin.

'That is understood.'

'For my part, if it happened I had a stick, I'd slash out at the
beggar's forelegs--so--an' keep slashin' same as if I was mowin'
grass. Or, if I hadn' a stick, I'd kick straight for his forelegs
an' chest; he's easy to cripple there, an' he knows it. Settin' down
may be all right for the time, only the difficulty is you've got to
get up again sooner or later--onless help arrives.'

'Eureka!' exclaimed Doctor Unonius, rushing to his notes.

'I beg y'r honour's pardon?'

'The modern instance says that the dogs would remain seated in a
circle round the man; that so long as he remained seated they would
do the same; but that, if he attempted to rise, they would renew the
attack. That vindicates me, and explains Homer.'

'Do it?' said Roger Olver. 'But, beggin' your pardon, sir, if it's
about dogs you want to know, why not have a look in at the kennels--
ay, an' follow the hounds now an' then? I've often wondered, makin'
so bold, how a gentleman like yourself, an' knowin' what's good for
health, can go wastin' time on dead fishes, with a pack o' hounds, so
to speak, at your door.'

'There's no sport more healthful, I verily believe,' agreed the
doctor.

'And as for nat'ral history, what can a man want that he can't larn
off a fox? Five-an'-twenty years I've been at it, an' the varmints
be teachin' me yet. But I'm forgettin' my message, sir, which is
that Sir John sends his compliments and would be happy to see you at
dinner this evenin', he havin' a few friends.'

Doctor Unonius sighed. He had designed to spend the evening on his
treatise. But he cherished a real regard for Sir John, whom all the
countryside esteemed for a sportsman and an upright English
gentleman; and Sir John, who, without learning of his own, held
learning in exaggerated respect, cherished an equal regard for the
doctor.

'My compliments to your master. I will come with pleasure,