[Illustration:  MR. SPONGE DEMANDING AN EXPLANATION]

Mr. Sponge, on his part, saw that all things portended a close.  He cared nothing about the old willow-pattern set usurping the place of the Jawleyford-armed china; but the contents of the dishes were bad, and the wine, if possible, worse.  Most palpable Marsala did duty for sherry, and the corked port was again in requisition.  Jawleyford was no longer the brisk, cheery-hearted Jawleyford of Laverick Wells, but a crusty, fidgety, fire-stirring sort of fellow, desperately given to his Morning Post.

Worst of all, when Mr. Sponge retired to his den to smoke a cigar and study his dear cab fares, he was so suffocated with smoke that he was obliged to put out the fire, notwithstanding the weather was cold, indeed inclining to frost.  He lit his cigar notwithstanding; and, as he indulged in it, he ran all the circumstances of his situation through his mind.  His pressing invitation—­his magnificent reception—­the attention of the ladies—­and now the sudden change everything had taken.  He couldn’t make it out, somehow; but the consequences were plain enough.  ‘The fellow’s a humbug,’ at length said he, throwing the cigar-end away, and turning into bed, when the information Watson the keeper gave him on arriving recurred to his mind, and he was satisfied that Jawleyford was a humbug.  It was clear Mr. Sponge had made a mistake in coming; the best thing he could do now was to back out, and see if the fair Amelia would take it to heart.  In the midst of his cogitations Mr. Puffington’s pressing invitation occurred to his mind, and it appeared to be the very thing for him, affording him an immediate asylum within reach of the fair lady, should she be likely to die.

Next day he wrote to volunteer a visit.

Mr. Puffington, who was still in ignorance of our friend’s real character, and still believed him to be a second ‘Nimrod’ out on a ‘tour,’ was overjoyed at his letter; and, strange to relate, the same post that 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.