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 XXXIV

Dowd “just had” to, according to unanimous opinion, go out to Lady Standish’s suburban plot of ground to visit “Big Four;” Gadsby, owing to an inborn liking for all animals; Clancy and Dowd from fond association with this particular group. It was a glorious spot; high, rolling land, with a patch of cool, shady woods, and a grand vista across hill and plain, with shining ponds and rich farm lands. And did “Big Four” know Clancy and Dowd? I’ll say so! And soon, with much happy whinnying and “acting up,” with two big roans poking inquiring snouts in Clancy’s hands, and two big blacks snuggling Gadsby and Dowd, as happy a group of Man and animals as you could wish for, was soon accompanying Lady Standish around that vast patch.

Anything that such animals could want was at hand. A bright, sparkling brook was gabbling and gurgling through a stony gully, or dropping, with many brilliant rainbows, down a tiny fall.

“Sally,” said Gadsby, “you do a grand work in maintaining this spot. If Mankind, as a body, would only think as you do, that an animal has a