ll, his remark was
always the same--"Tcha! And at my time of life, too!" But Finn was
not otherwise neglected. The Mistress of the Kennels had a little
camp-stool, and on this she sat mid-way between Finn and Kathleen.
Finn also had the Master's hand-bag in his section of the bench;
and that was rather nice and companionable. Also, the Master
himself seemed seldom to be far away. He flitted to and fro,
generally in conversation with somebody, and always followed, for
so long as he was in sight, by the eyes of Finn and Kathleen. In
his hand he carried a yellow book which told him the names of every
dog in all that vast assemblage of canine princes and lordlings,
with details, too, as to their exalted ancestry.

The Mistress of the Kennels was studying a similar book, and if
Finn, whose muzzle at this time was just above her shoulder, could
have read, he would have seen that she was busy with the Irish
Wolfhound section of the catalogue. This showed her that there were
three separate classes for Irish Wolfhound dogs, and three for
bitches of the same breed--Open, Limit, and Novice; with first,
second, and third prizes to be won in each class. The Open classes
were for all and any Irish Wolfhounds of each sex; the Limit
classes were for such as had not previously won more than six first
prizes; and the Novice classes were for hounds that had never won a
first prize in any show. There was also a junior class for hounds
of both sexes under the age of eighteen months. In the Open dog
class there appeared the names of no fewer than two fully-fledged
champions, and two other fully developed hounds that were already
within measurable reach of championship honours; besides several
other Wolfhounds of high repute and proved prowess as prize-winners
at shows. In the Open bitch class there was one champion entered,
and four or five others of whom great things had been predicted. In
the other classes it was evident that competition would be brisk.
In the Limit class, for example, were several hounds well past
maturity who had already won at other shows as many as four and
five first prizes. The Novice classes included the names of some
extremely promising hounds, several of whom had already won second
and third prizes elsewhere. In the junior class there were four
other entries, besides those of Finn and Kathleen. But Finn and
Kathleen had been boldly entered right through, in all classes for
which they were eligible. Old breeders