94 MB. SPONGE'S SPOUTING TOUR. 



long time " (puff). " If Mrs. J. were to die (Curse — the cigar's 

 burnt my lips "), added he, throwing the remnant into the fire, 

 and rolling out of the chair to prepare for turning into bed. 



If any one had told Sponge that there was a rich papa and 

 mamma on the look-out merely for amiable young men to bestow 

 their fair daughters upon, he would have laughed them to scorn, 

 and said, " Why, you fool, they are only laughing at you ; " or 

 " Don't you see they are playing you off against somebody else ? " 

 But our hero, like other men, was blind where he himself was con- 

 cerned, and concluded that he was the exception to the general rule. 



Mr. and Mrs. Jawleyford had their consultation too. 



" Well," said Mr. Jawleyford, seating himself on the high wire 

 fender immediately below a marble bust of himself on the mantel- 

 piece ; " I think he'll do." 



" Oh, no doubt," replied Mrs. Jawleyford, who never saw any 

 difficulty in the way of a match ; " I should say he is a very nice 

 young man," continued she. 



" Rather brusque in his manner, perhaps,'' observed Jawleyford, 

 who was quite the " lady" himself. " I wonder what he has ? " 

 added he, fingering away at his whiskers. 



" He's rich, I've no doubt," replied Mrs. Jawleyford. 



" What makes you think so ? " asked her loving spouse. 



" I don't know," replied Mrs. Jawleyford ; " somehow I feel 

 certain he is — but I can't tell why — all foxhunters are." 



" I don't know that," replied Jawleyford, who knew some very 

 poor ones. " I should like to know what he has," continued 

 Jawleyford musingly, looking up at the deeply corniced ceiling as 

 if he were calculating the chances among the filagree ornaments of 

 the centre. 



" A hundred thousand, perhaps," suggested Mrs. Jawleyford, who 

 only knew two sums — fifty and a hundred thousand. 



" That's a vast of money," replied Jawleyford, with a slight 

 shake of the head. 



" Fifty at least, then," suggested Mrs. Jawleyford, coming down 

 half way at once. 



" Well, if he has that, he'll do," rejoined Jawleyford, who also had 

 come down considerably in his expectations since the vision of his 

 railway days, at whose bright light he had burnt his fingers. 



" He was said to have an immense fortune — I forget how much 

 —at Laverick Wells," observed Mrs. Jawleyford. 



" Well, we'll see," said Jawleyford ; adding, " I suppose either 

 of the girls will be glad enough to take him ? " 



" Trust them for that," replied Mrs. Jawleyford, with a knowing 

 smile and nod of the head : " trust them for that," repeated she. 

 " Though Amelia does turn up her nose and pretend to be fine, 

 rely upon it she only wants to be sure that he's worth having." 



