mr. sponge's sporting tour. 85 



u He belies his looks, then," replied Watson, with a grin of 

 his cadaverous face, " for he's just as bad a beast as ever looked 

 through a bridle. It's a parfect disgrace to a gentleman to put a 

 man on such a beast." 



Sponge saw the sort of man he had got to deal with, and pro- 

 ceeded accordingly. 



" Have you lived long with Mr. Jawleyford ? " he asked. 



" No, nor will I, if I can help it," replied Watson with another 

 grin and another touch of the old hat. Touching his hat was about 

 the only piece of propriety he was up to. 



" What, he's not a brick then ? " asked Sponge. 



" Mean man" replied Watson with a shake of the head ; " mean 

 man" he repeated. " You're nowise connected with the fam'ly, I 

 'spose ? " he asked with a look of suspicion lest he might be commit- 

 ting himself. 



" No," replied Sponge; " no ; merely an acquaintance. We met 

 at Laverick Wells, and be pressed me to come and see him." 



" Indeed ! " said Watson, feeling at ease again. 



a Who did you live with before you came here ? " asked Mr. 

 Sponge after a pause. 



" I lived many years — the greater part of my life, indeed — with 

 Sir Harry Swift. He was a real gentleman now, if you like — free, 

 open-handed gentleman — none of your close shavin', cheese-parin,' 

 sort of gentlemen, or imitation gentlemen, as I calls them, but a man 

 who knew what was due to good servants and gave them it. We had 

 good wages, and all the proper 'reglars.' Bless you, I could sell a 

 new suit of clothes there every year, instead of having to wear the* 

 last keeper's cast-offs, and a hat that would disgrace anything but a 

 flay-crow. If the linin' wasn't stuffed full of gun waddin' it would 

 be over my nose," he observed, taking it off and adjusting the layer 

 of wadding as he spoke. 



" You should have stuck to Sir Harry," observed Mr. Sponge. 



" / did" rejoined Watson, " I did, I stuck to him to the last. 

 I'd have been with him now, only he couldn't get a manor at Bou- 

 logne, and a keeper was of no use without one." 



" What, he went to Boulogne, did he ? " observed Mr. Sponge. 



" Aye, the more's the pity," replied Watson. " He was a gentle- 

 man, every inch of him," he added, with a shake of the head and a 

 sigh, as if recurring to more prosperous times. " He was what a 

 gentleman ought to be," he continued, " not one of your poor, pryin 1 , 

 inquisitive critturs, what's always fancyin' themselves cheated. I 

 ordered every thing in my department, and paid for it too ; and never 

 had a bill disputed or even commented on. I might have charged for 

 a ton of powder, and never had nothin' said." 



" Mr. Jawleyford's not likely to find his way to Boulogne, I sup- 

 pose ? " observed Mr. Sponge. 



