306 mr. sponge's SPORTING tour. 



" There, now (puff)," said he, holding up one that he thought there 

 could be no mistake about ; " who do you (wheeze) that is ? " 



" Deaf Burke," replied Mr. Sponge, after a stare. 



" Deaf Burke ! " (puff) replied Jog, indignantly. 



" "Who is it, then ? " asked Mr. Sponge. 



" Can't you see ? (wheeze)," replied Jog, tartly. 



" No," replied Sponge, after another examination. " It's not 

 Scroggins, is it ? " 



" Napoleon (puff) Bonaparte," replied Jog, with great dignity, re- 

 turning the head to the glove. 



He showed several others, with little better success, Mr. Sponge 

 seeming rather to take a pleasure in finding ridiculous likenesses, in- 

 stead of helping his host out in his conceits. The stick-mania was a 

 failure, as far as Mr. Sponge was concerned. Neither were the pere- 

 grinations about the farms, or ter-ri-to-ry, as Jog called his estate, 

 more successful ; a man's estate, like his children, being seldom of 

 much interest to any but himself. 



Jog and Sponge were soon most heartily sick of each other. Nor 

 did Mrs. Jog's charms, nor the voluble enunciation of " Obin and 

 Ichard," followed by " Bah, bah, black sheep," &c, from that won- 

 derful boy, Gustavus James, mend matters; for the young rogue 

 having been in Mr. Sponge's room while Murry Ann was doing it out, 

 had torn the back of Sponge's " Mogg," and made such a mess of his 

 tooth-brush, by cleaning his shoes with it, as never was seen. 



Mr. Sponge soon began to think it was not worth while staying 

 at Puddiugpote Bower for the mere sake of his keep, seeing there 

 was no hunting to be had from it, and it did not do to keep hack 

 hunters idle, especially in open weather. Leather and he, for once, 

 were of the same opinion, and that worthy shook his head, and said 

 Mr. Crowdey was " awful mean," at the same time pulling out a 

 sample of bad ship oats, that he had got from a neighbouring ostler, 

 to show the " stuff " their " osses " were eatin' of. The fact was, 

 Jog's beer was nothing like so strong as Mr. Puffington's ; added to 

 which, Mr. Crowdey carried the principles of the poor-law union into 

 his own establishment, and dieted his servants upon certain rules. 

 Sunday, roast beef, potatoes, and pudding under the meat; Monday, 

 fried beef, and stick-jaw (as they profanely called a certain pudding); 

 Wednesday, leg of mutton, and so on. The allowance of beer was a 

 pint and a half per diem to Bartholomew, and a pint to each woman ; 

 and Mr. Crowdey used to observe from the head of the servants' din- 

 ner-table on the arrival of each cargo, u Now this (puff) beer is to 

 (wheeze) a month, and, if you choose to drink it in a (gasp) day, 

 you'll go without any for the rest of the (wheeze) time ; " an intima- 

 tion that had a very favourable effect upon the tap. Mr. Leather, 

 however, did not like it. " Puffington's servants," said he, " had 

 beer whenever they chose," and he thought it " awful mean " restrict- 



