MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 201 



"Me say anything!" interrupted Jawleyford; "/never said 

 anything — at least, nothing that any man with a particle of sense 

 would think anything of," continued he, remembering the scene 

 in the billiard-room. " It's one thing to tell a man, if he comes 

 your way, you'll be glad to see him, and another to ask him to come 

 bag and baggage, as this impudent Mr. Sponge has done," added he. 



" Certainly," replied Mrs. Jawleyford, who saw where the shoe 

 was pinching her bear. 



" I wish he was off," observed Jawleyford, after a pause. " He 

 bothers me excessively — I'll try and get rid of him by saying we 

 are going from home." 



" Where can you say we are going to ? " asked Mrs. Jawleyford. 



"Oh, anywhere," replied Jawleyford; "he doesn't know the 

 people about here : the Tewkesbury's, the Woolerton's, the 

 Brown's, — anybody." 



Before they had got any definite plan of proceeding arranged, 

 Mr. Sponge returned from the chase. 



" Ah, my dear sir ! " exclaimed Jawleyford, half gaily, half 

 moodily, extending a couple of fingers as Sponge entered his study ; 

 " we thought you had taken French leave of us, and were off." 



Mr. Sponge asked if his groom had not delivered his note. 



"No," replied Jawleyford, boldly, though he had it in his 

 pocket ; " at least, not that I've seen. Mrs. Jawleyford, perhaps, 

 may have got it," added he. 



" Indeed ! " exclaimed Sponge ; " it was very idle of him. He 

 then proceeded to detail to Jawleyford what the reader already 

 knows, how he had lost his day at Larkhall Hill, and had tried to 

 make up for it by going to the cross-roads. 



" Ah ! " exclaimed Jawleyford, when he was done ; " that's a 

 pity — great pity — monstrous pity — never knew anything so 

 unlucky in my life." 



" Misfortunes will happen," replied Sponge, in a tone of unconcern. 



"Ah, it wasn't so much the loss of the hunt I was thinking of," 

 replied Jawleyford, " as the arrangements we have made in 

 consequence of thinking you were gone." 



" What are they ? " asked Sponge. 



" Why, my Lord Barker, a great friend of ours — known him 

 from a boy — just like brothers, in short — sent over this morning 

 to ask us all there— shooting party, charades, that sort of thing — 

 and we accepted." 



" But that need make no difference," replied Sponge ; " I'll 

 go too." 



Jawleyford was taken aback. He had not calculated upon so 

 much coolness. 



" Well," stammered he, " that might do, to be sure ; but — if — 



I'm not quite sure that I could take any one " 



Q -' 



