Tom Springs Back Parlour. 9 



diamond ring, exclaimed, ''Tom, liow are you, old fellow? 

 How am I to go to Chatham races and the tight too on the 

 same day ? " The man winked, as much as to say, " Look, 

 my fine fellows, what a sportsman I am.'' 



Spring put his hands quietly behind his back, and 

 answered, " When did you ever know me well enough to 

 call me ' Tom ? ' " 



It was a floorer. The man had never seen him before in 

 any private company. The look which Spring gave him 

 S3ttled him, and he walked quickly out, muttering, and got 

 into a flash dog -cart and vanished. 



The other occasion was when a drunken soldier, one of 

 the foot guards, came in and w^anted something to drink. 

 Mrs. B., the big niece, told him, very good-humouredly, 

 that he had better go to his barracks, as he had had enough. 

 Whereupon the soldier came out with a dreadful oath, and 

 called her a horrible name. 



Spring came out of his parlour with his hair almost on 

 end. I never saw him angry before. He let fly at the 

 soldier in words somewhat warmly, and the soldier said 

 that if Spring had been a younger man, he would have 

 knocked him down ; and he began to take his belt off, like 

 a coward. In a much shorter time than I can write three 

 words of this. Spring was round the bar, and there was 

 such a CLU-ious conglomeration of a red coat and a black 

 coat twisting round and round down the passage into 

 Holborn, that it had the eftect of Chinese fireworks, which 

 are produced by constant change of colour revolving ; and, 

 to my delight, I saw Spring's right foot r pplied as a finisher 

 as he kicked the man into the street. In a minute or two 

 his good-humour returned, and he got his wind again. 

 " There," he said, " I would serve a whole regiment such as 

 that blackguard so, one at a time, or two, if they wished it. 

 That fellow fight ! Why, my niece could beat him." 



