juvenile recreations, he is a full participant. In this way he is the
reflection of the wickedness of many masters, without possessing the
virtues or peculiarities of any particular one.

If leading a "dog's life" be considered a peculiar phase of human
misery, the life of a Boys' Dog is still more infelicitous. He is
associated in all schemes of wrong-doing, and unless he be a dog of
experience is always the scapegoat. He never shares the booty of his
associates. In absence of legitimate amusement, he is considered fair
game for his companions; and I have seen him reduced to the ignominy of
having a tin kettle tied to his tail. His ears and tail have generally
been docked to suit the caprice of the unholy band of which he is a
member; and if he has any spunk, he is invariably pitted against
larger dogs in mortal combat. He is poorly fed and hourly abused; the
reputation of his associates debars him from outside sympathies; and
once a Boys' Dog, he cannot change his condition. He is not unfrequently
sold into slavery by his inhuman companions. I remember once to have
been accosted on my own doorsteps by a couple of precocious youths, who
offered to sell me a dog which they were then leading by a rope. The
price was extremely moderate, being, if I remember rightly, but fifty
cents. Imagining the unfortunate animal to have lately fallen into
their wicked hands, and anxious to reclaim him from the degradation of
becoming a Boys' Dog, I was about to conclude the bargain, when I saw
a look of intelligence pass between the dog and his two masters. I
promptly stopped all negotiation, and drove the youthful swindlers
and their four-footed accomplice from my presence. The whole thing was
perfectly plain. The dog was an old, experienced, and hardened Boys'
Dog, and I was perfectly satisfied that he would run away and rejoin his
old companions at the first opportunity. This I afterwards learned he
did, on the occasion of a kind-hearted but unsophisticated neighbor