“We were very vain of our cook, notwithstanding, in those days,” said Augustus, smiling.
“So you might. I suppose he was as good as money could buy—and you had plenty of money. But your dinners were grand, cumbrous, never-ending feeds, that with all the care a man might bestow on the bill o' fare, he was sure to eat too much of venison curry after he had taken mutton twice, and pheasant following after fat chickens. I always thought your big dinners were upside down; if one could have had the tail-end first they'd have been excellent. Somehow, I fancy it was only your brother Temple took an interest in these things at your house. Where is he now?”
“He's at Rome with my brother-in-law.”
“That 's exactly the company he ought to keep. A lord purifies the air for him, and I don't think his constitution could stand without one.”
“My brother has seen a good deal of the world; and, I think, understands it tolerably well,” said Bramleigh, meaning so much of rebuke to the other's impertinence as he could force himself to bestow on a guest.
“He knows as much about life as a dog knows about decimals. He knows the cad's life of fetch and carry; how to bow himself into a room and out again; when to smile, and when to snigger; how to look profound when a great man talks, and a mild despair when he is silent; but that ain't life, Bramleigh, any more than these strawberries are grapes from Fontainebleau!”
“You occasionally forget, Mr. Cutbill, that a man's brother is not exactly the public.”
“Perhaps I do. I only had one brother, and a greater blackguard never existed; and the 'Times' took care to remind me of the fact every year till he was transported; but no one ever saw me lose temper about it.”
“I can admire if I cannot envy your philosophy.”
“It's not philosophy at all; it's just common sense, learned in the only school for that commodity in Europe,—the City of London. We don't make Latin verses as well as you at Eton or Rugby, but we begin life somewhat 'cuter than you, notwithstanding. If we speculate on events, it is not like theoretical politicians, but like practical people, who know that Cabinet Councils decide the funds, and the funds make fortunes. You, and the men like you, advocated a free Greece and a united Italy for sake of fine traditions. We don't care a rush about Homer or Dante, but we want to sell pig-iron and printed calicoes. Do you see the difference now?”