"He behaved very handsomely, and said he had not presumed to consider me his mouthpiece; and then, too, I am so intimate with L'Estrange."
"Is that queer fellow ever coming back to England?"
"He comes, generally, every year, for a few days, just to see his father and mother, and then returns to the Continent."
"I never meet him."
"He comes in September or October, when you, of course, are not in town, and it is in town that the Lansmeres meet him."
"Why does he not go to them?"
"A man in England but once a year, and for a few days, has so much to do in London, I suppose."
"Is he as amusing as ever?" Egerton nodded.
"So distinguished as he might be!" remarked Lord Westbourne.
"So distinguished as he is!" said Egerton, formally; "an officer selected for praise, even in such fields as Quatre Bras and Waterloo; a scholar, too, of the finest taste; and as an accomplished gentleman matchless!"