28-4 mk. sponge's spoktlvg tour. 



c< Ah, indeed ! " replied Mr. Sponge, brightening up, thinking 

 there would be old hay and corn. 



They now came to a half-Swiss, half-Gothic little cottage of a 

 lodge, and the old horse turned instinctively into the open white gate 

 with pea-green bands. 



" Here's Mrs. Crow — Crow — Crowdey ! " gasped Jogglebury, 

 convulsively, as a tall woman, in flare-up red and yellow stunner 

 tartan, with a swarm of little children, similarly attired, suddenly 

 appeared at an angle of the road, the lady handling a great alpaca 

 umbrella-looking parasol in the stand-and-deliver style. 



" What's kept you ? " exclaimed she, as the vehicle got within 

 ear-shot. " What's kept you? " repeated she, in a sharper key, hold- 

 ing her parasol across the road, but taking no notice of our friend 

 Sponge, whom, in truth, she took for Edgebone, the butcher. '* Oh ! 

 you've been after your sticks, have you ? " added she, as her spouse 

 drew the vehicle up along side of her, and she caught the contents of 

 the apron-straps. 



" My dear (puff)" gasped her husband, " I've brought Mr. (wheeze) 

 Sponge," said he, winking his right eye, and jerking his head over his 

 left shoulder, looking very frightened all the time. " Mr. (puff) 

 Sponge, Mrs. (gasp) Jogglebury (wheeze) Crowdey," continued he, 

 motioning with his hand. 



Finding himself in the presence of his handsome hostess, Sponge 

 made her one of his best bows, and offered to resign his seat in the 

 carriage to her. This she declined, alleging that she had the children 

 with her — looking round on the grinning, gaping group, the majority 

 of them with their mouths smeared with lollipops. Crowdey, who 

 was not so stupid as he looked, was nettled at Sponge's attemptiDg 

 to fix his wife upon him at such a critical moment, and immediately 

 retaliated with, " P'raps (puff) you'd like to (puff) out and (wheeze) 

 walk." 



There was no help for this, and Sponge having alighted, Mr. 

 Crowdey said, half to Mr. Sponge and half to his fine wife, " Then 

 (puff — wheeze) I'll just (puff) on and get Mr. (wheeze) Sponge's room 

 ready." So saying, he gave the old nag a hearty jerk with the bit, 

 and two or three longitudinal cuts with the knotty-pointed whip, 

 and jingled away with a bevy of children shouting, hanging on, and 

 dragging behind, amidst exclamations from Mrs. Crowdey, of " O 

 Anna Maria ! Juliana Jane ! Frederick James, you naughty boy ! 

 you'll spoil your new shoes ! Archibald John, you'll be kilt ! you'll 

 be run over to a certainty. Jogglebury, you inhuman man ! " 

 continued she, running and brandishing her alpaca parasol, " you'll 

 run over your children ! you'll run over your children ! " 



" My (puff) dear," replied Jogglebury, looking coolly over his 

 shoulder, " how can they be (wheeze) run over behind ? " 



So saying, Jogglebury ground away at his leisure. 



