time. Childerth took him off, an hour and a
half after we left here, latht night. The horthe
danthed the Polka till he wath dead beat
(he would have walthed, if he hadn't been in
harneth), and then I gave him the word and
he went to thleep comfortable. When that
prethiouth young Rathcal thed he'd go
for'ard afoot, the dog hung on to hith
neckhankercher with all four legth in the air
and pulled him down and rolled him over.
Tho he come back into the drag, and there he
that, 'till I turned the horthe'th head, at
halfpatht thixth thith morning."

Mr. Gradgrind overwhelmed him with
thanks, of course; and hinted as delicately as
he could, at a handsome remuneration in
money.

"I don't want money mythelf, Thquire;
but Childerth ith a family man, and
if you wath to like to offer him a five-pound
note, it mightn't be unactheptable. Likewithe
if you wath to thtand a collar for the dog, or
a thet of bellth for the horthe, I thould be
very glad to take 'em. Brandy and water I
alwayth take." He had already called for a
glass, and now called for another. "If you
wouldn't think it going too far, Thquire, to
make a little thpread for the company at
about three and thixth ahead, not reckoning
Luth, it would make 'em happy."

All these little tokens of his gratitude, Mr.
Gradgrind very willingly undertook to render.
Though he thought them far too slight, he
said, for such a service.

"Very well, Thquire;  then, if you'll only give
a Horthe-riding, a bethpeak, whenever you can,
you'll more than balanthe the account. Now,
Thquire, if your daughter will ethcuthe me,
I thould like one parting word with you."

Louisa and Sissy withdrew into an adjoining
room; Mr. Sleary, stirring and
drinking his brandy and water as he stood,
went on:

"Thquire, you don't need to be told that
dogth ith wonderful animalth."

"Their instinct," said Mr. Gradgrind, "is
surprising."

"Whatever you call it—and I'm bletht if I
know what to call it "—said Sleary, "it ith
athtonithing. The way in with a dog'll find
you—the dithtanthe he'll come!"

"His scent," said Mr. Gradgrind, "being
so fine."

"I'm bletht if I know what to call it,"
repeated Sleary, shaking his head, "but I
have had dogth find me, Thquire, in a way that
made me think whether that dog hadn't gone
to another dog, and thed, 'You don't happen
to know a perthon of the name of Thleary,
do you?  Perthon of the name of Thleary,
in the Horthe-Riding way—thtout man—
game eye?' And whether that dog mightn't
have thed, 'Well, I can't thay I know him
mythelf, but I know a dog that I think would
be likely to be acquainted with him.' And
whether that dog mightn't have thought it
over, and thed, 'Thleary, Thleary! O yeth,
to be thure! A friend of mine menthioned
him to me at one time. I can get you hith
addreth directly.' In conthequenth of my
being afore the public, and going about tho
muth, you thee, there mutht be a number of
dogth acquainted with me, Thquire, that I
don't know!"

Mr. Gradgrind seemed to be quite
confounded by this speculation.

"Any way," said Sleary, after putting his
lips to his brandy and water, "ith fourteen
month ago, Thquire, thinthe we wath at
Chethter. We wath getting up our Children
in the Wood one morning, when there cometh
into our Ring, by the thtage door, a dog. He
had travelled a long way, he wath in very
bad condithon, he wath lame, and pretty well
blind. He went round to our children, one
after another, as if he wath a theeking for a
child he know'd; and then he come to me, and
throwd hithelf up behind, and thtood on
hith two fore-legs, weak ath he wath, and
then he wagged hith tail and died. Thquire,
that dog wath Merrylegth."

"Sissy's father's dog!"

"Thethilia'th father'th old dog. Now,
Thquire, I can take my oath, from my
knowledge of that dog, that that man wath dead—
and buried—afore that dog come back to me.
Joth'phine and Childerth and me talked it
over a long time, whether I thould write or
not. But we agreed, 'No. There'th nothing
comfortable to tell; why unthettle her mind,
and make her unhappy?' Tho, whether her
father bathely detherted her; or whether he
broke hith own heart alone, rather than pull
her down along with him, never will be known,
now, Thquire, till—no, not till we know how
the dogth findth uth out!"

"She keeps the bottle that he sent her
for, to this hour; and she will believe in his
affection to the last moment of her life," said
Mr. Gradgrind.

"It theemth to prethent two thingth to a
perthon, don't it, Thquire?" said Mr. Sleary,
musing as he looked down into the depths of
his brandy and water: "one, that there ith a
love in the world, not all Thelf-interetht
after all, but thomething very different;
t'other, that it hath a way of ith own of
calculating or not calculating, whith thomehow
or another ith at leatht ath hard to
give a name to, ath the wayth of the dogth
ith!"

Mr. Gradgrind looked out of window, and
made no reply. Mr. Sleary emptied his glass
and recalled the ladies.

"Thethilia my dear, kith me and good bye!
Mith Thquire, to thee you treating of her like
a thithter, and a thithter that you trutht and
honour with all your heart and more, ith a
very pretty thight to me. I hope your
brother may live to be better detherving of
you, and a greater comfort to you. Thquire,
thake handth, firtht and latht! Don't be
croth with uth poor vagabondth. People
mutht be amuthed. They can't be alwayth