ve. We could never trace the origin of this outrage, and
could only suppose that burglars had purposed breaking into our house,
and, enraged at Rab's barking, had at last got hold of, and, as they
thought, killed him, and flung the body into an adjoining field. Poor
little doggie! he suffered grievously for his brave defence, and for
months the wounds were a great distress to him and to us; but all that
loving care could do was done, and once more his wonderful constitution
enabled him to regain health and strength. We kept at that time several
very large mastiffs, and the next adventure occurred early one morning,
when we were aroused by a terrific noise in the stable-yard, and the
message brought to us was to the effect that Rab was quite dead. He had
been worried by one of the mastiffs which had got loose in the night. I
rose quickly and went to see the poor little victim's body, and looking
at it, I saw a little quiver in the eyelid that led to a gleam of hope.
I had him carried indoors, and again teaspoons of milk, &c., were given,
and actually he began to revive, and a feeble wag of his tail, seemed to
say, "I'm very bad, but not dead yet." The sad part was that the shaking
and worrying he had received had reopened the previous wounds, and
though after a time he was able to get about, he was quite a wreck; one
ear was gone, and the other, strange to say, was but a fragment, like
his namesake in "Rab and his Friends." Still, he lived to be nearly
fifteen, and then rheumatism and loss of teeth made his life a distress
to him, and he was peacefully dismissed to the rest he had bravely
earned by his life of courageous devotion to what he thought the path of
duty.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

A VISIT TO JAMRACH.

There is an old and true saying--"Everything comes to him who waits." I
thought of this saying while on my way to visit the well-known place
near the London Docks where Mr. Jamrach is supposed to keep almost every
rare animal, bird, and reptile, ready to supply the wants of all
customers at a moment's notice. For many long years I had wished to pay
him a visit, but ill-health and other causes had proved a hindrance and
I could hardly believe my wish was going to be realized when I found
myself on the way to his menagerie. After driving through a labyrinth of
narrow, dirty streets, we were at last obliged to get out and walk till
we came to the shop, and then we did indeed find ourselves in the