Having made this observation, he opened the door of the room, and whistled to his dogs.
Two docile animals came bounding into the apartment; they skipped about, wagged their tails, and demonstrated the greatest possible affection for their master.
Peace played a tune on his violin, and made them dance on their hind legs, and go through a variety of difficult and diverting feats, to the infinite delight of the assembly.
“You have a wonderful power over the brute creation,” said Mr. Whittock. “Why, you might pull in a lot of money as a public entertainer.”
“It has always been a hobby of mine, sir. I take great delight in teaching those faithful creatures—I say faithful advisedly, for the most fortunate of us will acknowledge that they are more faithful, and I may add less selfish than man.”
It is not very complimentary of you to say so,” observed Mrs. Thompson, who was at this time on her best behaviour.
“You are right, my dear,” returned Peace. “It is not complimentary, but our friends will excuse it. Present company is, of course, excepted.”
At this there was a roar of laughter, after which Peace and Willie Ward played another duet.
To see our hero at this time it would have been impossible for any one to guess that he was anything else than a genial, good-natured, kind-hearted, old gentleman, who took a delight in making everybody happy and comfortable around him.
The old adage, “that appearances are oftentimes deceptive,” was specially applicable in his case, for he would have deceived the Prince of Darkness himself, his power of dissimulation being perfectly marvellous. In the course of conversation he expressed himself in such a gentle unobtrusive way—assumed for the nonce such a moral tone, and reprobated wrong doing so earnestly, and at the same time so naturally, that it would have been impossible for any one who did not know his manner and mode of life, to imagine him to be the hardened, callous, unscrupulous criminal whose nefarious career we have endeavoured to shadow forth.