SUNSHINE. 25 



in doubling them up to meet the contingency, he suffers 

 cramp. 



And yet, notwithstanding these insurmountable drawbacks 

 to the natural instinct of relaxing the pressure of the thews 

 and sinews, commonly called " taking it easy," Puffy Doddles 

 might frequently be seen seated on the bottom of a stable- 

 pail. Force of habit, perhaps, acted as the " why" for the 

 " wherefore," which lessened the penalties of the position of 

 Puffy Doddles when sitting upon the bottom of a stable-pail ; 

 but there, it may be repeated, he frequently sat, reflecting on 

 the past, and contemplating the future. 



" To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 

 Creeps in this petty space from day to day.*' 



It seemed, indeed, but yesterday when Robert Top's best 

 lad, acting upon instructions, deftly stripped the neat clothing 

 from Sunshine's shining back and quarters, and revealed to 

 view, for the first time to his new attendant, a form which, 

 taking it all in all, Fate had not awarded him with the 

 opportunity of beholding before, and yet several yesterdays had 

 come and gone since then, to prove that the great total of life 

 "lives in but little." 



Puffy Doddles had " looked after " Sunshine for three clear 

 weeks. He had walked, cantered, galloped, and sweated him. 

 He had dressed, fed, and watered him. He had set his box fair 

 daily, even to the particular position of the single, straight, 

 reed-like straws at his heels. He had so polished the bit of his 

 exercising-bridle, suspended on a peg within convenient reach 

 in the box, that it shone like burnished silver. He had 

 systematically cleaned out his crib, so that not the husk of a 

 single oat could be picked out of the smallest crack, corner, or 

 crevice with the point of the finest needle that was ever filed. 

 He had most scrupulously kept from wasting even that limited 

 quantity of hay coming under the definition of a pinch. He 

 had been more punctual in his attendance at the fixed and 



