ut what could you expect from a
dog of low degree?

"'My name,' I replied, holding up my head with a slight sniff of
disdain, 'is--Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough!'

"I had no time to notice the effect of these words, for they were hardly
out of my mouth when I felt myself seized by a large hand, lifted into
the air, and thrust into someone's coat pocket. From this humiliating
position I heard the voice of the man washing the cart:

"'That _your_ dorg?' And someone answered, 'It belongs to the lady.'

"You may judge, my dear mistress, how frightened I felt. Here was a
sudden end to my freedom! Imprisoned in a strange man's pocket, from
which escape was impossible, nearly stifled with the smell of tobacco,
and filled with dread as to what would happen next. I managed to wriggle
my head out of the corner, but saw at once that it would be useless to
think of jumping out, the distance from the ground being far too great.
I remained still therefore, and as the man walked out of the yard had a
faint hope that he knew where I lived and was taking me home. Alas! I
was soon disappointed. He turned down a mews, went into a house I had
never seen before, up some narrow stairs without any carpet, and entered
a room where there sat a large fat man in his shirt sleeves, smoking and
reading a newspaper. I was placed trembling on the table by his side,
and he took the pipe out of his mouth and turned his head to look at me.

"'Nice little sort of a fancy dorg,' he said at last. 'What they call a
"Blennum".'

"'Strayed into the yard,' said the man who had picked me up. 'I'm going
to show it to the missus presently.'

"'Worth a tidy sum,' said the fat man, and went on smoking.

"Was ever a dog of my rank and position brought down so low? No one took
any more notice of me, or seemed to think me of any importance, and I
remained shivering on the table with large tears rolling down my cheeks.
How I repented my folly! I had wanted to see the world, and here it was,
a miserable contrast to my happy life at home, where I was fondled and
admired by everyone. Foolish, foolish little dog that I had been! I
began to think too how my dear little mistress would miss me, and how
they would search everywhere and call for me in vain, and the more I
thought the more painful it all seemed. A long and wretched time passed
in this way, during which the fat man, who was a coachman I afterwards
heard, puffed at his pipe and read his newspaper, sometime