186 mr. sponge's sporting tour. 



The horse seemed to like having Sponge's red coat on better than 

 Leather's brown, and champed his bit, and stepped away quite gaily. 



" Confound it ! " exclaimed Sponge, laying the rein on its neck, 

 and leaning forward to pat him ; " it's a pity but you were always in 

 this humour— you'd be worth a mint of money if you were." He then 

 resumed his seat in the saddle, and bethought him how he would show 

 them the way on the morrow. " If he doesn't beat every horse on 

 the field, it shan't be my fault," thought he ; and thereupon he gave 

 him the slightest possible touch with the spur, and the horse shot 

 away up a strip of grass like an arrow. 



" By Jove, but you can go ! " said he, pulling up as the grass ran 

 out upon the hard road. 



Thus he reached the village of Hardington, which he quickly 

 cleared, and took the well-defined road to Bewley — a road adorned 

 with milestones and set out with a liberal horse-track at either side. 



Day had closed ere our friend reached Bewley, but the children 

 returning from school, and the country folks leaving their work, kept 

 assuring him that he was on the right line, till the lights of the town 

 bursting upon him as he rounded the hill above, showed him the end 

 of his journey. 



The best stalls at the head inn — the Bull's Head — were all full, 

 several trusty grooms having arrived with the usual head-stalls and 

 rolls of clothing on their horses, denoting the object of their mission. 

 Most of the horses had been in some hours, and were now standing well 

 littered up with straw, while the grooms were in the tap talking over 

 their masters, discussing the merits of their horses, or arguing whether 

 Lord Scamperdale was mad or not. They had just come to the con- 

 clusion that his lordship was mad, but not incapable of taking care 

 of his affairs, when the trampling of Sponge's horse's feet drew them 

 out to see who was coming next. Sponge's red coat at once told his 

 tale, and procured him the usual attention. Mr. Leather's fear of 

 the want of clothing for the valuable hunter proved wholly ground- 

 less, for each groom having come with a plentiful supply for his own 

 horse, all the inn stock was at the service of the stranger. The 

 stable, to be sure, was not quite so good as might be desired, but it 

 was warm and water-tight, and the corn was far from bad. Altogether, 

 Mr. Sponge thought he would do very well, and, having seen to his 

 horse, proceeded to choose between beef-steaks and mutton-chops for 

 his own entertainment, and with the aid of the old country paper and 

 some very questionable port, he passed the evening in anticipation of 

 the sports of the morrow. 



