'I have half a mind to look in with you,' said his Grace with a careless
air.
'Oh! come along, by all means. They'll be devilish glad to see you. De
Berghem was saying the other day what a nice fellow you were, and how he
should like to know you. You don't know De Berghem, do you?'
'I have seen him. I know enough of him.'
They quitted the theatre together, and under the guidance of Lord
Bagshot, stopped at a door in Brunswick Terrace. There they found
collected a numerous party, but all persons of consideration. The Baron,
who had once been a member of the diplomatic corps, and now lived in
England, by choice, on his pension and private fortune, received them
with marked courtesy. Proud of his companion, Lord Bagshot's hoarse,
coarse, idiot voice seemed ever braying. His frequent introductions
of the Duke of St. James were excruciating, and it required all the
freezing of a finished manner to pass through this fiery ordeal. His
Grace was acquainted with most of the guests by sight, and to some he
even bowed. They were chiefly men of a certain age, with the exception
of two or three young peers like himself.
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