the present."[1] Those who liked to make a good story complete declared afterwards to the present narrator that the philosopher, before they reached their journey's end, found himself nurse to of litter of puppies as well as to their interesting mother.
Scarcely less distasteful is the duty which belongs to the literary companion of listening to his patron's compositions, if he is a dabbler, as so many are, in poetry, or history, or the drama, since one must not only listen but loudly applaud his wretched attempts as an author. Or, where the companion is expected himself to give readings of his own to amuse the leisure of his patron, the mortification may be even greater—especially if, as in the case just mentioned, the patron be of the softer sex. "It will often happen that while the philosopher is reading, the maid will bring in a billet from a lover. Straightway the lecture upon wisdom and chastity is brought to a stand-still, until the lady has read and answered the missive, after which they return to it with all convenient speed."[2]
- ↑ It is hardly necessary to repeat that the term "Cynic" is derived from the Greek for "dog."
- ↑ Some readers will remember the anecdote told of Dr , one of Queen Anne's chaplains. His duty was to reed the Church prayers in the anteroom, while the queen was at her toilet within. Occasionally the door was shut, "while her majesty was shifting herself," during which interval the doctor left off, and resumed when the door was reopened. The other chaplains had not been so fastidious; and the doctor was asked by one of her majesty's women, why he did not go straight on with his reading: upon which he replied that he "would never whistle the Word of God through a key-hole."
