A DOG OF FLANDERS. 51

bowl of soup and a handful of bread, —
or some kindly trader would throw
some billets of fuel into the little
cart as it went homeward, or some
woman in their own village would bid
them keep some share of the milk
they carried. for their own food; and
then they would run over the white

lands, through the early darkness,
. bright and happy, and burst with a
shout of joy into their home.

So, on the whole, it was well with
them, very well ; and Patrasche, meet-
ing on the highway or in the public
streets the many dogs who toiled
from daybreak into night-fall, paid
only with blows and curses, and
loosened from the shafts with a kick
to starve and freeze as best they