Which reminds me--and I have it on the best authority, that of His Excellency Mr. Wong, late Chinese Minister in Tokio, since beheaded--that chow dogs are not eaten in China.
I had two little Japanese chins at that time--Yum-Yum and Dodo--which ran Chang very close in my affections. What pretty little things they were! Yum-Yum, no bigger than a fair-sized kitten, but almost human in intelligence and powers of affection, with her pretty little bird-like ways. I fancy even Chang’s stony heart now and then felt a pang of jealousy when he saw her sitting on my shoulder, nibbling a bit of lettuce, or chin-chinning to an admiring audience on the dining-room table for a grape or wee bit of apple.
Then the fat, sturdy Dodo too, with his long, black-and-white, silky coat and inquiring mind. I can see him now, gazing, with head on one side, like a pert cock-robin, at that funny, immovable little policeman outside the gates. I sometimes almost wondered myself if that small wooden figure were really alive, or only a dummy in uniform and sword, for surely it would have made a cat laugh to see Dodo’s never-ending astonishment and curiosity.
One constant source of excitement in Chang’s life at Tokio were the black crows. What games he used to play with them, feigning sleep, until those wary thieves would venture to make a raid on a half-finished bone; then up he would jump, and a mad chase would follow. But those wily old birds somehow always got the best of it, and would sit, cawing away triumphantly, in the twisted pine-tree just out of his reach.
But Chang was a great source of anxiety to me sometimes in those days, to say nothing of expense. Only the other evening, looking over some old papers, I came across the following bill, for which he is responsible:
Bill for Medical Treatment of the Chow Dog.
| Consultation | 1 yen. | |
| Examination | 75 sen. | |
| Operation | 2 yen | 25 sen. |
| Lodging, milk-and-egg diet for above-named animal during one month | 4 yen | 50 sen. |
| ––––––––––– | ||
| Total | 8 yen | 50 sen.[[D]] |
| ‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗ | ||
| First-class Veterinary Institution, | ||
| Komobar, Tokio. | ||
[D]. Equals about 17s. 6d.