MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 245 



" 'Bout knowing of that 'ound, sir," whispered Bragg ; " the 

 fact is, sir, — we call him Merryman, sir ; master don't know I got 

 him from you, sir." 



" O-o-o," replied Jack, squinting, if possible, more frightfully 

 than before. 



"Ah, that's the hound I offered to Scamperdale," observed 

 Puffington, seeing the movement, and coming up to where Jack 

 stood ; " that's the hound I offered to Scamperdale," repeated he, 

 taking the old dog's head between his hauds. " There's no better 

 hound in the world than this," continued he, patting and smooth- 

 ing him ; " and no better bred hound either," added he, rubbing 

 the dog's sides with his whip. 



" How is he bred ?" asked Jack, who knew the hound's pedigree 

 better than he did his own. 



" Why, I got him from Reynard, — no, I mean from Downey- 

 bird — the Duke, you know ; but he was bred by Fitzwilliam — by 

 his Singwell out of Darling, Singwell was by the Rutland Rally- 

 wood out of Tavistock Rhapsody ; but to make a long story short, 

 he's lineally descended from the Beaufort Justice." 



"Indeed!" exclaimed Jack, hardly able to contain himself; 

 " that's undeniable blood." 



" Well, I'm glad to hear you say so ; " replied Puffington. "I'm 

 glad to hear you say so, for you understand, these things — no man 

 better ; and I confess I've a warm side to that Beaufort Justice 

 blood." 



" Don't wonder at it," replied Jack, laughing his waistcoat 

 strings off. 



" The great Mr. Warde," continued Mr. Puffington, " who was 

 justly partial to his own sort, had never any objection to breeding 

 from the Beaufort Justice." 



" No, nor nobody else that knew what he was about," replied 

 Jack, turning away to conceal his laughter. 



" We should be moving, I think, sir," observed Bragg, anxious 

 to put an end to the conversation ; " we should be moving, I think, 

 sir," repeated he, with a rap of his forefinger against his cap peak. 

 " It's past eleven," added he, looking at his gold watch, and 

 shutting it against his cheek. 



" What do you draw first ? " asked Jack. 



"Draw — draw — draw," replied Puffington. "Oh, we'll draw 

 Rabbitborough Gorse — that's a new cover I've enclosed on my 

 pro-o-rperty." 



" Sc-e-e-use me, sir," replied Bragg, with a smile, and another 

 rap of the cap : " sc-e-e-use me, sir, but I'm going to Hollyburn 

 Hanger first." 



" Ah, well, Hollyburn Hanger," replied Puffington, complacently ; 

 "either will do very well." 



