MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR. 251 



" Oh, I don't mean to say it's equal to many we've had this 

 season," replied "Washball ; " nothing like the Boughton Hill day, 

 nor yet the Hembury Forest one ; but still, considering the meet 

 and the state of the country " 



"Hout ! the country's good enough," growled Jack, who hated 

 Washball ; adding, " A good fox makes any country good ; " with 

 which observation he sidled up to Sponge, leaving "Washball in 

 the middle of the road. 



" That reminds me," said Jack, sotto voce to Sponge, " that the 

 crittur wants his run puffed, and he thinks you can do it." 



" Me ! " exclaimed Sponge, " what's put that in his head ? " 



" Why, you see," exclaimed Jack, " the first time you came out 

 with our hounds at Dundleton Tower, you'll remember — or rather, 

 the first time we saw you, when your horse ran away with you — 

 somebody, Fyle, I think it was, said you were a literary cove ; and 

 Puff, catchin' at the idea, has never been able to get rid of it 

 since : and the fact is, he'd like to be flattered — he'd be un- 

 commonly pleased if you were to ' soft saudor ' him handsomely." 



" Me ! " exclaimed Sponge ; " bless your heart, man, I can't 

 write anything — nothing fit to print, at least." 



" Hout, fiddle ! " retorted Spraggon, " you can write as well as 

 any other man ; see what lots of fellows write, and nobody ever 

 finds fault." 



" But the spellin' bothers one," replied Sponge, with a shake 

 of his elbow and body, as if the idea was quite out of the 

 question. 



" Hang the spellin'," muttered Jack, " one can always borrow a 

 dictionary ; or let the man of the paper — the editor, as they call 

 him — smooth out the spellin'. You say at the end of your letter, 

 that your hands are cold, or your hand aches with holdin' a pullin' 

 horse, and you'll thank him to correct any inadvertencies — you 

 needn't call them errors, you know." 



" But where's the use of it ? " exclaimed Sponge ; " it '11 do us 

 no good, you know, praisin' Puff's pack, or himself, or anything 

 about him." 



" That's just the point," said Jack, " that's just the point. I 

 can make it answer both our purposes," said he, with a nudge of 

 the elbow, and an inside-out squint of his eyes. 



" Ah, that's another matter," replied our friend ; " if we can 

 turn the thing to account, well and good — I'm your man for a shy." 



" We can turn it to account," rejoined Jack ; " we can turn it 

 to account — at least /can ; but then you must do it. He wouldn't 

 take it as any compliment from me. It's the stranger that sees 

 all things in their true lights. D' ye understand ? " asked he, 

 eagerly. 



" 1 twig," replied Sponge. 



