"Hey-day!" says Mrs. Hel, sharp; "read
that again. What hever does he mean by that?
—your little games—your litt—"

"'Spose he illudes to my hentering my old
mare for the steeplechase," I answers, hastily.
"But, you know, it didn't come off. So—so—
Ha . . . 'Now,' Tom goes on, 'if you and
cousin Matty'll pop on your seven-league
boots, and step across to Sarah Gosser, I can
promise you a 'arty welcome, hexlent wine,
and universal ciwility, which, if it don't mean
much, hexpresses a deal. And,' concluded
Tom,' as we partic'larly want your opinion of
a black Handalusian bull, with short sharp
'orns, we hope you'll not disappint us, but'll
come next week. Your affectionate, Tom K.
Tirritup. P.S. Ramirez Vermijo kisses my
cousin's hand.' The deuce he does! He must
have a pretty long neck," says I, as I folded
up the letter, thoughtfully, and put it in my
pocket, keeping out, however, a specious of
map, meant to show us the way, with many ins
and outs, and roads and names; but with
Hogsmead and Sarah Gosser wrote very large, and so
nigh together that it seemed quite sing'lar they'd
hitherto know'd so little of each other.

There was a pause, after which,

"If we'd wanted very much to go, Hel," says
my wife, timidly, "'twould have been just the
only time—wouldn't it, now?"

"'Twould have cost a pot o' money," says I,
"all for to see a Handalusian bull. 'Twould
have been cheaper to send him to me"

"So it would, my dear. Just like Tom,
but—"

"Fine open weather, ain't it, Mrs. Hel?"
says I, to change the subject and diwert her
mind.

"Wery fine—'specially for them as happens
to be travellin' by land or by water. They
not only has the pleasure, but'll be prayed
for," says my wife, softly.

"They has expenses, Mrs. Hel," I thought it
my duty to say.

"Wery true," she says, with a sigh. "By
the by, Jem, what hever does Tom mean by
saying that you and he had ' had your
sw——'"

"And so you'd railly like to cross the salt
seas, dear?" says I, pinching her ear.

"Yes, I would, no matter how salt they
was," said my wife, stoutly. "But, Jem—
'little games'? If——"

"Then, I tell you what—you shall," hinterrupted
I. "So go and clap on your wust
bonnet."

O' course I was only joking about the bonnet,
for it took us several days to prepare. I,
for my part, wanted to say nothing about it, it
not being favourable for things in general, to be
know'd that the master's going far away. But
my wife was proud of this tremenjious journey,
and it soon got wind. We was looked at with
hinterest and astonishment. Compliments,
likewise commissions, came pouring down upon
us. Folks seemed to think that Spain
produced everything other countries didn't. But
we shortened it by declining to bring back
anything but liquorice, which, packing close, and
being wery likely to dissolve on the way, we
cheerfully hundertook to any amount.

To be sure, going to Spain is not a heveryday
affair; still, there was no call for the club
givin' me a farewell dinner at the Salutation.
Have it, however, they woold. All I stipulated
for was, that there was to be no speeches—
that it were not to be called a "dinner," but
a conwivial repast, and that Stephen Dumbush,
who had never been heerd to utter anything
beyond a grunt, in the memory of man, was to
be in the chair. There were to be no formality,
nor nothin' stronger than rum-punch.

When the day come, though nothin' was said
about any dinner, the, coincidences as happened
wos curious in the hextreme. Everybody
seemed to have particular business at Hogsmead
—as might keep them out till bed-time. Neighbour
Burdock, Stephen Dumbush, and old
Bullwinkle rode in together. Singlerly,
everybody'd bordered dinner at the same hour—
half-past four! There was a table at the
Salutation, haccidentally kid for twenty-five, just
the number as chanced to meet! The big chair,
at the top, 'appened to be hoccupied by Mr.
Dumbush. Into the chair on his right hand, I
permiscuously dropped, and we found ourselves
dining Bumptiously, and makin' a din you might
have heard at Lincoln!

Honly distant illusions was at first made to
our journey.—"Our neighbour's brief absence'*
—"Lufkin's hinteresting project"—Jem's
little forrin start," etc. Hafterwards as we
warmed up, they was more plain.

George Burdock remarked that, o' course, he
wasn't going to make a speech, but he did see
a gentleman present which to drink a cordial
health to—and his wife—wouldn't do no harm
to anybody. The party he had in his heye was
going to a distant land, of which wery little
was generally know'd, except that there was
hinsurrections twice a week, and a down right
rebellion hevery 'alf year. It was hard to get
at, but he believed that, when a man giv' his
mind to it, and arrived, there was good cattle—
'specially bulls—and he hoped that the wisit of
Mr. Lufkin would lead to such a cordial hinterchange
of beasts, as would be creditable to both
countries. With the consent of the chair (Mr.
Dumbush nodded) he would give the health of
Mr. and Mrs. Lufkin, of Goodburn Close.

Mr. Stonedyke, though mindful of the gineral
understanding that there was to be no speeches,
could not deny himself the pleasure of seconding
that proposal, hadding that, since their
respected neighbour had already distinguished
himself as a author—in regard to sperrets—
the public would be nat'rally impatient for his
views with respect to the crossin o' red
Herefords with the short-horned northern stock.

Mr. Bullwinkle would only say one word.
Mention had been made of Spanish bulls. For
John Bull to have to be taught by a Spaniard
what a bull was, almost amounted to an Irish
one. He thought that the only advantage of
Spanish stock over our'n, was an hincreased
hinclination to fight, and tempers more heasily
haggravated.

Young Tom Thicknesse (which an't wery