I had a good supply of new books, and to get time to read them, finished my lessons as quickly as possible. My two letters a week came as regularly as the dates on our calendar. The delight I had in those just received, and the anticipation of those coming, was to me a great source of pleasure. And I had mine to write. Shortly after the term opened, the principal, meeting me, said: “Master Japhet, you need not send your letters to me any more for me to read. Seal them and put them in the post-box, and you can write as many as you wish.” He did not say why, for he never gave a reason for anything, as his word was law, he was law unto himself, and to all the rest of us, for that matter. But I knew the wherefore of it, that it was one of Mr. Percy’s surprises, as it was characteristic of him to give surprises of pleasure without even hinting about them. I could well say: “Nothing like having a friend at Court.” I left our dignified governor with almost a bound of delight, thinking I could write just as I felt, the thoughts of my heart without a spy over me. The year closed, and we were all soon homeward bound again. I need not tell who met me or how I was received. We had our morning rides, our evening drives, our walks, our talks, our cozy dinners and those blessed after-dinner coffee chats in front of the fire in the drawing room, for my vacations always occurred in the cold seasons, when it was pleasant to have a fire. Then we three enjoyed ourselves. I mean by three, Mr. Percy, Cockear and myself, for Cockear always made one of our company. He sat in front of us, on the rug, with that ear of his always erect, listening intently to all that was said, and frequently bowing assent to any good point that he thought we had made. And sometime, somewhere in the great beyond, he may be able to tell us how much he was helped to a higher and nobler life by those talks of ours. If God is so careful as to number the hairs of our heads, and to notice every sparrow that falls, will He not also look after the good dogs? To tell really just what I think: I have seen many dogs whom I thought better fitted for heaven and eternal life than lots of men I have known. This may be only an opinion or a prejudice of mine, yet I will vouch for this as a fact, that a dog was never known to betray his friends. And still further. If mankind were as good as dogs in their morals and actions, then the clergy, priests and parsons might all go to cleaning pots and kettles or some honest labor, instead of trying to clean the souls of men.