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80 A SHABBY GENTEEL STORY
it was he. " Fwendship and the City of Canterbuwy steamer !" and
herewith his Lordship held out his right-hand forefinger to Brandon,
who enclosed it most cordially in all his. " Wathn't it good of me,
now, George, to come down and conthole you in thith curthed
thtupid place—hay now ?" said my Lord, after these salutations.
Brandon swore he was very glad to see him, which was very
true, for he had no sooner set his eyes upon his Lordship, than he
had determined to borrow as much money from him as ever he
could induce the young nobleman to part with.
" I'll tell you how it wath, my boy : you thee I wath thtopping
at Long'th, when I found, by Jove, that the governor wath come
to town ! Cuth me if I didn't meet the infarnal old family dwag,
with my mother, thithterth, and all, ath I wath dwiving a hackcab
with Polly Tomkinth in the Pawk! Tho when I got home,
'Hang it!' thaith I to Tufthunt, 'Tom my boy,' thaith I, 'I've
just theen the governor, and must be off !' ' What, back to Ockthford?'
thaith Tom. 'No,'thaith I, 'that won't do. Abroad—to
Jewicho—anywhere. Egad, I have it ! I'll go down to Margate
and thee old George, that I will.' And tho off I came the very
next day; and here I am, and thereth dinner waiting for uth
at the hotel, and thixth bottleth of champagne in ithe, and thum
thalmon : tho you mutht come."
To this proposition Mr. Brandon readily agreed, being glad
enough of the prospect of a good dinner and some jovial society,
for he was low and disturbed in spirits, and so promised to dine
with his friend at the " Sun."
The two gentlemen conversed for some time longer. Mr.
Brandon was a shrewd fellow, and knew perfectly well a fact of
which, no doubt, the reader has a notion—namely, that Lord
Cinqbars was a ninny ; but, nevertheless, Brandon esteemed him
highly as a lord. We pardon stupidity in lords ; nature or instinct,
however sarcastic a man may be among ordinary persons, renders
him towards men of quality benevolently blind : a divinity hedges
not only the king, but the whole peerage.
" That's the girl, I suppose," said my Lord, knowingly winking
at Brandon : " that little pale girl, who let me in, I mean. A nice
little filly, upon my honour, Georgy my buck !"
" Oh—that—yes—I wrote, I think, something about her," said
Brandon, blushing slightly ; for, indeed, he now began to wish that
his friend should make no comments upon a young lady with whom
he was so much in love.
" I suppose it's all up now ?" continued my Lord, looking still
more knowing. "All over with her, hay] I saw it was by her
looks, in a minute."