grazing on the hillside beneath me.

Strange to relate, I met with a little misadventure on account of the
sheep--an animal which one is accustomed to regard as of a timid and
inoffensive nature. When I set out at a brisk pace to walk to the house
I have spoken of, in order to make some inquiries there, a few of the
sheep that happened to be near began to bleat loudly, as if alarmed, and
by and by they came hurrying after me, apparently in a great state of
excitement. I did not mind them much, but presently a pair of horses,
attracted by their bleatings, also seemed struck at my appearance, and
came at a swift gallop to within twenty yards of me. They were
magnificent-looking brutes, evidently a pair of well-groomed carriage
horses, for their coats, which were of a fine bronze color, sparkled
wonderfully in the sunshine. In other respects they were very unlike
carriage animals, for they had tails reaching to the ground, like
funeral horses, and immense black leonine manes, which gave them a
strikingly bold and somewhat formidable appearance. For some moments
they stood with heads erect, gazing fixedly at me, and then
simultaneously delivered a snort of defiance or astonishment, so loud
and sudden that it startled me like the report of a gun. This tremendous
equine blast brought yet another enemy on the field in the shape of a
huge milk-white bull with long horns: a very noble kind of animal, but
one which I always prefer to admire from behind a hedge, or at a
distance through a field-glass. Fortunately his wrathful mutterings gave
me timely notice of his approach, and without waiting to discover his
intentions, I incontinently fled down the slope to the refuge of a grove
or belt of trees clothing the lower portion of the hillside. Spent and
panting from my run, I embraced a big tree, and turning to face the foe,
found that I had not been followed: sheep, horses, and bull were all
grouped together just where I had left them, apparently holding a