"I shouldn't. Hev a good look at un."

Mavis looked, to see that Jill's comparatively recent litter had
been responsible for the temporary abnormal development of the parts
of her body by which she had nourished her young.

"It's why Mrs Devitt wouldn't have un in the house. I don't blame
her. I call it disgusting," continued this chip of Puritanical
stock.

"I see nothing to object to. It's nature," retorted Mavis, who
inwardly smiled to see how the Puritanical-minded young woman, who
had looked askance at Jill's appearance, did not hesitate to grab
the girl's proffered shilling.

Jill and Mavis were at once fast friends. The dog accompanied her
mistress in all her rambles, where its presence routed the forces of
loneliness which were beginning to lay siege to the girl's peace of
mind. Jill slept on Mavis's bed, pined when she left her in the
morning, madly rejoiced at her mistress' return from work, when the
vigorous wagging of Jill's tail, together with the barks of delight
which greeted Mavis, gave her a suggestion of home which she had
never experienced since the days of Brandenburg College.

This year, spring came early, like a beautiful mistress who joins an
enraptured lover before he dares to hope for her coming. With the
lengthening days Mavis knew an increasing distress of mind. She
became unsettled: outbreaks of violent energy alternated with spells
of laziness, which, more often than not, were accompanied by
headaches. Books of historical memoirs, hitherto an unfailing