brought his answer jumping at the proposal, brought a letter from Lord Scamperdale to Jawleyford, saying that, ‘as soon as Jawleyford was quite alone (scored under) he would like to pay him a visit.’ His lordship, we should inform the reader, notwithstanding his recent mishap, still held out against Jack Spraggon’s recommendation to get rid of Mr Sponge by buying his horses, and he determined to try this experiment first. His lordship thought at one time of entering into an explanation, telling Mr Jawleyford the damage Sponge had done him, and the nuisance he was entailing upon him by harbouring him; but not being a great scholar, and several hard words turning up that his lordship could not well clear in the spelling, he just confined himself to a laconic; which as it turned out, was a most fortunate course. Indeed, he had another difficulty besides the spelling, for the hounds having as usual had a great run after Mr Sponge had floored him -- knocked his right eye into the heel of his left boot, as he said -- in the course of which run his lordship’s horse had rolled over him on a road, he was like the railway people -- unable to distinguish between capital and income -- unable to say which were Sponge’s bangs and which his own; so, like a hard cricket-ball sort of a man as he was, he just pocketed all, and wrote as we have described.

His lordship’s and Mr Puffington’s letters diffused joy into a house that seemed likely to be distracted with trouble.

So then endeth our thirtieth chapter, and a very pleasant ending it is, for we leave everyone in perfect good humour and spirits. Sponge pleased at having got a fresh billet, Jawleyford delighted at the coming of the lord, and each fair lady practising in private how to sign her christian name in conjunction with ‘Scamperdale.’


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