178 mr. sponge's sporting tour. 



myself and leaving the hounds ; then I thought if I left the hounds 

 it would only make the sinful scaramouch more outrageous, and I 

 should be sitting on pins and needles till they came home, thinking 

 how he was crashing among them. Next I thought of drawing all 

 the unlikely places in the country, and making a blank day of it. 

 Then I thought that would only be like cutting off my nose to spite 

 my face. Then I didn't know what on earth to do. At last, when 

 I saw the critter's great bill steadily down in his plate, I thought I 

 would try and steal a march upon him, and get away with my fox 

 while he was feeding ; and, oh ! how thankful I was when I looked 

 back from Bramblebrake Hill, and saw no signs of him in the dis- 

 tance." 



" It wasn't likely you'd see him," interrupted Jack, " for he never 

 got away from the front door. I twigged what you were after, and 

 kept him up in talk about his horses and his ridin' till I saw you 

 were fairly away." 



11 You did well," exclaimed Lord Scamperdale, patting Jack on 

 the back; "you did well, my old buck-o'-wax; and, by Jove! we'll 

 have a bottle of port — a bottle of port, as I live" repeated his lord- 

 ship, as if he had made up his mind to do a most magnificent act. 



" But what's happened you behind ? — what's happened you be- 

 hind ? " asked Jack, as his lordship turned to the fire, and exhibited 

 his docked tail. 



" Oh, hang the coat ! — it's neither here nor there," replied his 

 lordship ; — " hat neither," he added, exhibiting its crushed propor- 

 tions. "Old Blossomnose did the coat; and as to the hat, I did it 

 myself — at least, old Daddy Longlegs and I did it between us. We 

 got into a grass-field, of which they had cut a few roods of fence, just 

 enough to tempt a man out of a very deep lane, and away we sailed, 

 in the enjoyment of fine sound sward, with the rest of the field plung- 

 ing and floundering, and holding and grinning, and thinking what 

 fools they were for not following my example, — when, lo and behold ! 

 I got to the bottom of the field, and found there was no way out ; — 

 no chance of a bore through the great thick, high hedge, except at a 

 branchy willow, where there was just enough room to squeeze a horse 

 through, provided he didn't rise at the ditch on the far side. At 

 first I was for getting off; indeed, had my right foot out of the stir- 

 rup, when the hounds dashed forrard with such energy, — looking 

 like running, — and remembering the tremendous climb I should have 

 to get on to old Daddy's back again, and seeing some of the nasty 

 jealous chaps in the lane eyeing me through the fence, thinking how 

 I was floored, I determined to stay where I was ; and, gathering the 

 horse together, tried to squeeze through the hole. Well, he went 

 shuffling and sliding down to it, as though he were conscious of the 

 difficulty, and poked his head quietly past the tree, when, getting a 

 sight of the ditch on the far side, he rose, and banged my head against 



