Three in a boat and a dog with them

Jerome Klapka Jerome, the author of the travelogue "Three Men in a Boat and the Dog with Them," is not at all sure that everything will go well. After all, it is unlikely that Uncle Podger will hang the picture straight, Harris will sing comical couplets, and George will successfully cook Irish stew. It sounds completely incredible that someone will get out of the Hampton Court maze in time, that the innkeeper, together with the regular drunkards, will catch a giant trout, and Montmorency will grab a fat cat by the tail.