“Yes. I believe they thought the rude remarks were clever ones. But that is pardonable. It is often difficult to ascend to sackcloth, even when one can descend to ermine.”
“Well, let us go together. You will notice I have accommodated my raiment to yours.”
“You still wear armour,” I went on, looking at the simple robe he now wore.
“It is impossible to get rid of it at so short a notice, but it is unseen. Come.”
And so we came to the entrance. This place perhaps belongs to the brother of whom Vestné had spoken, for many servants in rich livery thronged the halls, which otherwise just now were empty.
“Come along,” said Plucritus. “It’s all I can do to keep my face straight passing through here, there’s so much mockery and unreal sham about it.”
“Cruelty and humiliation,” I criticised.
“Now, don’t preach, Genius. Considering I have had the kindness to descend to your level in the matter of dress, you might descend to mine in the matter of feeling.”
“You must know,” he continued, “that my kinsman has a very fine theatre here, which it has cost years to build. It has been constructed on the latest and most approved methods, and is at the height of comfort, convenience and luxury.”
“I can quite believe you,” I affirmed.