All unpromising Beginning. 47 



season and with young lioiinds, and telling 

 Hm tliat they would make it all right with 

 the owner of the sheep. On reaching the ken- 

 nel, John Major, the discarded huntsman, first 

 met the hoimds, and said in a dissatisfied 

 tone — 



''' I see you hayo had blood to-day.-' 

 ^'Yes,'' was the only reply; which sent 

 liim away as miserable as the master, until 

 he learnt the real state of the case, when he 

 became jolly enough. In the course of the 

 evening the shepherd came (no doubt sent by 

 good Mr. Eutler) to thank the imlucky hunts- 

 man for haying killed a poor giddy sheep that 

 had given him ^' a mort o' trouble." Eyen 

 this well-meant deyicc did not comfort poor 

 Mr. Smith, and he went to bed only to be 

 tormented ^vii\l frightful dreams, in which his 

 hounds appeared to be hunting eyerything but 

 foxes. Howeyer, he determined to giye them 

 one more trial; and although with a doubtful 

 heart, he took them to the place of meeting the 



