312 MR. sponge's sporting tour. 



day, and were as wild as hawks. They were ready to run anything. 

 Furious and Furrier tackled with a cow. Bountiful ran a black cart- 

 colt, and made him leap the haw-haw. Sempstress, Singwell, and 

 Saladin (puppies), went after some crows. Mercury took after the 

 stable cat, while old Thunderer and Come-by-chance (supposed to be 

 one of Lord Scamperdale's), joined in pursuit of a cur. Watchorn, 

 however, did not care for these little ebullitions of spirit, and never 

 having been accustomed to exercise the " Camberwell and Balham 

 Hill Union Harriers," he did not see any occasion for troubling the 

 fox-hounds. u They would soon settle," he said, " when they got a 

 scent." 



It was this riotous start that diverted Sixteen-string'd Jack's at- 

 tention from our friend, and, looking out of the window, Mr. Sponge 

 saw all the company preparing to be off. There was the elegant Bu- 

 gles mounting her ladyship's white Arab ; the brothers Spangles 

 climbing on to their cream-colours ; Mr. This getting on to the post- 

 man's pony, and Mr. That on to the gamekeeper's. Mr. Sponge hur- 

 ried out to get to the brown ere his anger arose at being left behind, 

 and provoked a scene. He only just arrived in time ; for the twang 

 of the horn, the cracks of the whips, the clamorous rates of the ser- 

 vants, the yelping of the hounds, and the general commotion, had got 

 up his courage, and he launched out in such a way, when Mr. Sponge 

 mounted, as would have shot a loose rider into the air. As it was, 

 Mr. Sponge grappled manfully with him, and, letting the Latchfords 

 into his sides, shoved him in front of the throng, as if nothing had 

 happened. Mr. Leather then slunk back to the stable, to get out the 

 hack to have a hunt in the distance. 



The hounds, as we said before, were desperately wild ; but 

 at length, by dint of coaxing and cracking, and whooping and hal- 

 looing, they got some ten couple out of the five-and-twenty gathered 

 together, and Mr. Watchorn, putting himself at their head, trotted 

 briskly on, blowing most lustily, in the hopes that the rest would 

 follow. So he clattered along the avenue, formed between rows of 

 sombre-headed firs and sweeping spruce, out of which whirred clouds 

 of pheasants, and scuttling rabbits, and stupid hares kept crossing 

 and recrossing, to the derangement of Mr. Watchorn's temper and 

 the detriment of the unsteady pack. Squeak, squeak, squeal sounded 

 right and left, followed sometimes by the heavy retributive hand of 

 Justice on the offender's hides, and sometimes by the snarl, snap, and 

 worry of a couple of hounds contending for the prey. Twang, 

 tvjanrj, twang, still went the horn ; and when the huntsman reached 

 the unicorn-crested gates, between tea-caddy looking lodges, he found 

 himself in possession of a clear majority of his un.^izeable pack: 

 Some were rather bloody to be sure, and a few carried scraps of 

 game, which fastidious masters would as soon have seen them with- 



