“I shall be very happy when I return again to town, Mrs Handycock. I hope the parrot is quite well.”
“Oh! my lord, that’s a sore subject; only think of Mr Handycock, when we retired from the ’Change, taking my parrot one day and selling it for five guineas, saying, five guineas was better than a nasty squalling, bird. To be sure, there was nothing for dinner that day; but, as Jemima agreed with me, we’d rather have gone without a dinner for a month, than have parted with Poll. Since we’ve looked up a little in the world, I saved up five guineas, by hook or by crook, and tried to get Poll back again, but the lady said she wouldn’t take fifty guineas for him.”
Mrs Handycock then jumped from her chair, saying, “Good morning, my lord; I’ll leave one of Mr Handycock’s cards. Jemima would be so glad to see you.”
As she left the room, Celeste laughingly asked me whether I had any more such acquaintances.
I replied, that I believed not; but I must acknowledge that Mrs Trotter was brought to my recollection, and I was under some alarm lest she should also come and pay me her respects.
The next day I had another unexpected visit. We had just sat down to dinner, when we heard a disturbance below; and, shortly after, the general’s French servant came up in great haste, saying that there was a foreigner below, who wished to see me; that he had been caning one of the waiters of the hotel, for not paying him proper respect.
“Who can that be?” thought I: and I went out of the door and looked over the banisters, as the noise still continued.
“You must not come here to beat Englishmen, I can tell you,” roared one of the waiters. “What do we care for your foreign counts?”
“Sacre, canaille!” cried the other party, in a contemptuous voice, which I well knew.
“Ay, canal!—we’ll duck you in the canal, if you don’t mind.”