Page:The power of the dog.djvu/109

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weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates his fate." The Chow gives one the impression of being a wise dog, who has inherited the impassive demeanour of his original Chinese masters. Mankind, as a whole, has no interest for him; he attaches himself to one person with great fidelity; to others, his demeanour, if not actually surly, is that of mere toleration. If you meet one with whom you have a bowing acquaintance, in the street, and speak to him, there is no responsive movement of the tightly-curled tail, no relaxation of the muscles of the grim face. You feel hopelessly snubbed, any overtures of friendship are summarily rejected. On reaching a new home, the Chow may be weeks before he is reconciled to his position, and you almost despair of the ill success of your efforts to establish cordial relations. Then comes the day on which he decides that you will do, and thence onward he is your liege man, offering you all the homage of which his nature is capable. In many respects he fulfils the nine conditions of Confucius's "superior man." In expression he is benign, in demeanour decorous, in duties respectful. I should not care to say, though, that in resentment he thinks of difficulties, for he will not take kindly to correction.

From these remarks it will be gathered, if I have made my meaning clear, that he is a dog who attaches himself devotedly to one person, while the rest of the world has no part in his existence.