Dolphin immediately relaxed her pressure upon the tiller, and allowed it to swing back amidships again.

"A man-o'-war's-man could not have done it better," said Lapstone.

The party sailed about in this way for some time, and Lapstone and the boys, the more they saw, the more they were pleased with the sagacity and intelligence that Dolphin manifested. At length the boat returned to the wharf.

"Bear a hand, Dolphin," said Mr. Damrell, "to go ashore with the painter."

So Dolphin took her station on the bows of the boat with the end of the painter in her mouth. As soon as the bows were near enough to the wharf, she leaped ashore, and there held on firmly, while Mr. Damrell took in the sail and made ready to land. When all was ready, the whole party disembarked; and Mr. Damrell, after locking the boat, gave Dolphin the keys, and they all proceeded towards the house. Dolphin ran before with the keys in her mouth.

"I have made up my mind," said Mr. Damrell, "that if you like my dogs when you come to see them, you may have either or both of them. The price is a dollar and a half apiece."

“Very well,” said Lapstone; "where are they? I want to see them."

"They are in my barn," said Mr. Damrell. "They are getting big enough to go out by themselves, and I let them out sometimes, but they are shut up now."

So saying, Mr. Damrell led the way to a small barn which stood in the back part of his premises, and opened the door, which was fastened by a hasp and a fid.* On entering the barn, the two young dogs came running to meet their master, and they leaped and capered about him with many expressions of joy. Dolphin, too, seemed very much pleased to see them again, and they to see Dolphin. But the chief attention of the dogs was, after all, given to their human visitors, for they

*Fid, the bit of wood that goes into the staple.

had reached an age when nature prompted them to seek and love the companionship of man even more than that of their mother.

One of the dogs was perfectly black, except a white ring about his neck. The other had both fore feet white.

"Are they named?" asked Orkney.

"No," replied Mr. Damrell, "they are not regularly named. Our folks call them Whitefoot and Ring, just to distinguish them; but you can name them any thing you please. Which of them do you like the best?"

"I think Whitefoot is rather the prettiest," said Top.

"They are both very pretty," said Orkney.

"Yes," added Lapstone, "there is very little choice between them. I think that instead of choosing one of them myself, I shall see which of them will prefer me."

"That's a good plan," said Orkney.

Accordingly, after playing with the dogs a little while, so as to get them both somewhat acquainted with him, Lapstone put them both down in one of the stalls, and went himself to a little distance from them across the floor.

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Now, boys," said he, “do you go off to one side, out of the way. I'm going to call the dogs to me. The one that gets to me first is the one that I will have."

So the boys went off to one side, and Lapstone called the dogs to come to him. They immediately came out of the stall, and began rambling about in a somewhat uncertain manner for a few minutes, approaching gradually, however, all the time, towards Lapstone. At length Whitefoot, catching a glimpse of the two boys at the door, ran off towards them, while Ring ran directly to Lapstone.

Lapstone caught him up in his arms, saying, "This is my dog. It is all settled."

Top caught up Whitefoot also, saying at the same time, "And this is my dog. Now, Uncle Lapstone, I wish you would buy this one too, for me, and I will work for you in your garden all summer, till you say I have done enough to pay for him."

"Ah! but how do I know that your father would be willing that you should have a dog?" said Lapstone. "Perhaps he would not like to have him at the house."

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Why, he said that he should like one very much," replied Top, "only he could not afford to buy one."

"Well, but then there is another difficulty," continued Lapstone. "There's Orkney. If either of you is to have the dog, it ought to be Orkney, for he is the oldest."

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No, sir," said Orkney, "I don't care about having him myself, for I am thinking a little of going away to school. If y you could buy him for Top, I should like it very much. I could have an interest in him, and Top lives so near our house that that will do just as well."

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Very well," said Lapstone ; "then it is all settled. We will take both the dogs."

So Lapstone paid Mr. Damrell the three dollars, and they took both the dogs and carried them home in the wagon. Top sat behind and carried Whitefoot, while Lapstone took Ring in his arms upon the seat in front.

After this, Lapstone continued to live in peace and prosperity a long time in his house in the village, and he told the boys a great many stories which there is not space for in this volume. The dog grew fast, and in process of time he became very large. He grew to be a very beautiful dog too, and as he was very intelligent and sagacious, Lapstone taught him a great variety of curious things. Top's dog, too, grew up to be as fine an animal as Lapstone's. When they had got their growth, among other things, Lapstone taught them both to draw in harness.

He made a very handsome double harness for them of leather, and Orkney made a very neat and pretty wagon in the carpenter's shop. The wagon was of good size too, and was very strong. The dogs could draw this wagon about the village, with two boys in it, very easily, and an excellent span they made.

XLVII.-PLAYING CAT AND DOG.

J. ABBOTT.

[This lesson is from Orkney, another of the Harpers' story books. It is about the same Orkney mentioned in the two preceding lessons. He is now sent to a school. He is a good and sensible boy, and acts as a peacemaker among the other scholars. This lesson shows how he does this. Aleck and Martin are two boys, who have had a quarrel, on a piazza, about a ball, and are at a distance from each other, looking very sulky. Orkney comes up, and observes them; and by what he says makes them see how foolishly they have acted, but does not scold them, or make them angry. He makes them laugh at themselves, and then they forget their anger.]

Orkney. WELL, boys, are you having a good time with the game you are playing?

Aleck. We are not playing any game.

Ork. O, yes, you have been playing an excellent good game, only you did not know it.

Ork. The game of cat and dog. You see, you have been acting just like a cat and a dog that happen to be in the same yard together; so, instead of playing horses, as Martin proposed, you have been playing cat and dog, and if you had only known what you were doing, you would have found it excellent good fun.

Martin. Nonsense, Orkney! you don't mean any such thing.

Ork. Why? Do you not think you were really acting like a cat and a dog?

Mar. No, not a bit.

Ork. Why, yes. You have forgotten how a cat and a dog

do act towards each other when they find themselves in the same yard.

Mar. How do they act?

Ork. Did not you ever observe them?

Mar. Yes; but we want you to tell us how they act.

Ork. In the first place, when the dog sees the cat, he runs over towards her, but he does not look good-natured and amiable, as if he were coming like a friend. He expects a quarrel,

and he is coming on purpose to make one; so he comes growling a little, and looking fierce.

Ork. He does not growl much

it is only a little; but it does not take much of a growl from a dog to let a cat know that he feels cross.

Al. No, very little indeed.

Ork. And just so a boy, without any growling at all, but just by his way of saying No, in a short and snappish way, so - No!—may let another boy see that he is cross, and so make the other boy feel cross too.

Mar. In this way No!

Al. Or so

-

No, I tell

Ork. Yes, that is the tone. Now, when the cat sees the dog coming up, and growling at her, do you think she begins to purr?

Mar. No, indeed!

Ork. Or walk up and rub against him affectionately?
Mar. No, indeed.

Ork. Not at all. She puts up her back, and sticks out her tail, and looks as fierce as she can in return.

Ork. Then the dog begins to bark. Then the cat snarls and spits at him. Then the dog comes nearer and barks louder. Then the cat catches at him with her paw, and tries to scratch him.

Mar. Yes, we have seen them do so a thousand times.

Ork. Then the cat runs off and jumps up upon a bench, and from the bench she climbs up to the top of a fence. Then the dog walks away growling. The dog lies down on the piazza near the door, and the cat sits on the top of the post, and then they look at each other with looks of anger and defiance, just exactly as you boys did a little while ago.

Al. O Orkney!

Ork. Yes, it was exactly so. Well, by and by the cat comes down from the fence, but, instead of coming to play with