mr. sponge's SPORTING TOUR. 421 



" Oh, my poor dear Jack ! " exclaimed his lordship, throwing 

 himself off his horse, and wringing his hands in despair, as a select 

 party of thimble-riggers, who had gone to Jack's assistance, raised 

 him up, and turned his ghastly face, with his eyes squinting inside 

 out, and the foam still on his mouth, full upon him. " Oh, my poor 

 dear Jack ! " repeated his lordship, sinking on his kness beside him, 

 and grasping his stiffening hand as he Spoke. His lordship sunk over- 

 powered upon the body. 



The thimble-riggers then availed themselves of the opportunity 

 to ease his lordship and Jack of their watches and the few shillings 

 they had about them, and departed. 



When a lord is in distress, consolation is never long in coming ; 

 and Lord Scamperdale had hardly got over the first paroxysms of 

 grief, and gathered up Jack's cap and the fragments of his spectacles, 

 ere Jawleyford, who had noticed his abrupt departure from the stand, 

 and scurry across the country, arrived at the spot. His lordship was 

 still in the full agongy of woe ; still grasping and bedewing Jack's 

 cold hand with his tears. 



" Oh, my dear Jack ! Oh, my dear Jawleyford ! Oh, my dear 

 Jack ! " sobbed he, as he mopped the fast-chasing tears from his 

 grizzly cheeks with a red cotton kerchief. " Oh, my dear Jack. Oh, 

 my dear Jawleyford ! Oh, my dear Jack ! " repeated he, as a fresh 

 flood spread o'er the rugged surface. " Oh, what a tr-reasure, what 

 a tr — tr — trump he was. Shall never get such another. Nobody 

 could s — s — lang a fi — fi — field as he could ; no hu — hu — humbug 

 'bout him — never was su — su — such a fine natural bl — bl — black- 

 guard ; " and then his feelings wholly choked his utterance as he 

 recollected how easily Jack was satisfied ; how he could dine off tripe 

 and cow-heel, mop up fat porridge for breakfast, and never grumbled 

 at being put on a bad horse. 



, The news of a man being killed soon reached the hill, and drew 

 the attention of the mob from our hero and heroine, causing such a 

 spread of population over the farm as must have been highly gratify- 

 ing to Scourgefield, who stood watching the crashing of the fences 

 and the demolition of the gates, thinking how he was paying his 

 landlord off. 



Seeing the rude, unmannerly character of the mob, Jawleyford 

 got his lordship by the arm, and led him away towards the hill, his 

 lordship reeling, rather than walking, and indulging in all sorts of 

 wild incoherent cries and lamentations. 



" Sing out, Jack ! sing out ! " he would exclaim, as if in the agony 

 of having his hounds ridden over ; then checking himself, he would 

 shake his head and say, " Ah, poor Jack, poor Jack ! shall never look 

 upon his like again — shall never get such a man to read the riot-act, 

 and keep all square." And then a fresh gush of tears suffused his 

 grizzly face. 



