said she, in a passive tone of regret, 'I
certainly thought however indifferent you might be to me' (and here she
applied her handkerchief--rather a coarse one--to her eyes) 'that still you
had some regard for the interests of your (sob) children'; and here the
waterfalls of her beady black eyes went off in a gush.

'Well, my dear,' replied Jogglebury, softened, 'I'm (puff) sure I'm
(wheeze) anxious for my (puff) children. You don't s'pose if I wasn't
(puff), I'd (wheeze) labour as I (puff--wheeze) do to leave them
fortins?'--alluding to his exertions in the gibbey-stick line.

'Oh, Jog, I dare say you're very good and very industrious,' sobbed Mrs.
Jogglebury, 'but I sometimes (sob) think that you might apply your (sob)
energies to a better (sob) purpose.'

'Indeed, my dear (puff), I don't see that (wheeze),' replied Jogglebury,
mildly.

'Why, now, if you were to try and get this rich Mr. Sponge for a god-papa
for Gustavus James,' continued she, drying her eyes as she came to the
point, '_that_, I should say, would be worthy of you.'

'But, my (puff) dear,' replied Jogglebury, 'I don't know Mr. (wheeze)
Sponge, to begin with.'

'That's nothing,' replied Mrs. Jogglebury; 'he's a stranger, and you should
call upon him.'

Mr. Jogglebury sat silent, still staring at Lord Brougham, thinking how he
pitched into him, and how sick he was when the jury, without retiring from
the box, gave five hundred pounds damages against him.

'He's a fox-hunter, too,' continued his wife; 'and you ought to be civil to
him.'

'Well, but, my (puff) dear, he's as likely to (wheeze) these fifty years as
any (puff, wheeze) man I ever looked at,' replied Jogglebury.

'Oh, nonsense,' replied Mrs. Jogglebury; 'there's no saying when a
fox-hunter may break his neck. My word! but Mrs. Slooman tells me pretty
stories of Sloo's doings with the harriers--jumping over hurdles, and
everything that comes in the way, and galloping along the stony lanes as if
the wind was a snail compared to his horse. I tell you. Jog, you should
call on this gentleman--'

'Well,' replied Mr. Jogglebury.

'And ask him to come and stay here,' continued Mrs. Jogglebury.

'Perhaps he mightn't like it (puff),' replied Jogglebury. 'I don't know
that we could (puff) entertain him as he's (wheeze) accustomed to be,'
added he.

'Oh, nonsense,' replied Mrs. Jogglebury; 'we can entertain him well enough.
You always say fox-hunters are not ceremonious. I tell you what,