'But one thing,' continued the lady--'one thing you must admit, and that
is, that the dog has always been the faithful companion of man.'

'Yes, that is true, madam, and I could tell you what the dog has learned
from man, and man from the dog.'

'Tell us; do tell us!' was simultaneously exclaimed from several
quarters.

'With pleasure. In the first place, man has taught the dog to fawn.'

'What a very queer thing to say!' cried old grandmother.

'Next, the dog has acquired all the qualities that make man base and
unreliable: cringing flattery upward, and rudeness and contempt
downward; the narrowest adhesion to his own, and distrust and hatred of
all else. Indeed, the noble animal has proved such an apt pupil that he
even understands the purely human art of judging people by their
clothes. He lets well-dressed folks alone, but snaps at the legs of the
ragged.'

Here the doctor was interrupted by a general chorus of disapproval, and
Miss Thyra bitterly gripped the fruit-knife in her little hand.

But there were some who wanted to hear what mankind had learned from the
dog, and Dr. Hansen proceeded, with steadily-growing passion and
bitterness:

'Man has learned from the dog to set a high price upon this grovelling,