Beasts of Business. By Ascott R. Hope. (A. and C.
Black es. eel.)—Mr. A.scott Hope has divided his book into eight
chapters. In the first seven he treats of the "Horse," "Ass and Mule," "Ox," "Dog," "Elephant," "Camel," and "Reindeer," while the last he devotes to "Beasts of All Sorts." In this crowd
the place of honour is accorded to the cat, not without an apology cf a sort to excuse his not having a chapter to himself. But then, as our author remarks, "in most houses it seems to have no business so pressing as that of looking after its own comfort." Among the others the dog has the "lion's share," if the phrase is not inappropriate, amounting to more than double that accorded to any other. And can one wonder? Tho stories of his ingenuity, whether good or bad, are endless. Here is one quite new, for the thing happened within a few hours of the writing of this notice. A dog, finding himself cold, undid a parcel of blankets and burrowed into the midst of them. All the chapters are full of interesting things. Perhaps that given to the elephant is the beat, though that which treats of the reindeer may be less familiar. In one thing we must correct our author. "We never," he says, "read [in Scripture] of good dogs, but find them named with contempt and dislike." But in the story of the Syrophoenician woman the dogs are pet doge, or at least kept in the house. It is an affectionate diminutive, K VICipla.
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