AN OUTING. 8 1 



which taught me not to pull my horse's mouth about 

 as if I was dragging on the tiller-lines of a family 

 boat. 



When Nemo (for so I called him) came up to be 

 saddled, he looked fit to go for a man's life. He once 

 had to go for mine ; but time enough for that. 



The pack, which numbered about twenty, were 

 ordered to be released, the pointer and an old 

 phlegmatic, half-mastiff, half-bull dog among the 

 number. There was to be no partiality, favour or 

 affection shown that day, so no broken, anxious, 

 pining hearts were to be left behind in sorrow and 

 despair. 



There was joy in that crowd, I can assure you, 

 and dear "old bull" showed the fulness of his honest, 

 manly, brave heart by sitting on his rump, looking 

 me full in the face and giving utterance to the most 

 doleful, yet deep and sonorous, bow-wows that ever 

 emanated from a chest of similar girthage. 



Yes, I was going to give the children a complete 

 outing ; and, as they had all at various times hunted 

 for my pleasure, on this occasion I was going to 

 hunt for theirs. 



I can hear the cynic ask, " What could a big 



