'Not so grand as that,' observed his lordship, doubting whether any man
could be guilty of such extravagance; 'composites, p'raps.'
It being decided that Jack should answer Mr. Puffington's invitation as
well and saucily as he could, and a sheet of very inferior paper being at
length discovered in the sideboard drawer, our friends forthwith proceeded
to concoct it. Jack having at length got all square, and the black-ink
lines introduced below, dipped his pen in the little stone ink-bottle, and,
squinting up at his lordship, said:
'How shall I begin?'
'Begin?' replied he. 'Begin--oh, let's see--begin--begin, "Dear Puff," to
be sure.'
'That'll do,' said Jack, writing away.
('Dear Puff!' sneered our friend, when he read it; 'the idea of a fellow
like that writing to a man of my p-r-o-r-perty that way.')
'Say "Scamp,"' continued his lordship, dictating again, '"is engaged, but
I'll be with you at feeding-time."'
('Scamp's engaged,' read Puffington, with a contemptuous curl of the lip,'
Scamp's engaged: I like the impudence of a fellow like that calling
noblemen nicknames.
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