Smith. Is the Duke ill?
Hastings. [Laughing.] Oh, no; the Doctor has come to ask him to help some cause or other. The Duke is never ill.
Smith. Is the Doctor with him now?
Hastings. Why, strictly speaking, he is not. The Doctor has gone over the road to fetch a paper connected with his proposal. But he hasn't far to go, as you can see. That's his red lamp at the end of his grounds.
Smith. Yes, I know. I am much obliged to you. I will wait as long as is necessary.
Hastings. [Cheerfully.] Oh, it won't be very long.
[Exit.
[Enter by the garden doors Dr. Grimthorpe reading an open paper. He is an old-fashioned practitioner, very much of a gentleman and very carefully dressed in a slightly antiquated style. He is about sixty years old and might have been a friend of Huxley's.
Doctor. [Folding up the paper.] I beg your pardon, sir, I did not notice there was anyone here.
Smith. [Amicably.] I beg yours. A new clergyman cannot expect to be expected. I only came to see the Duke about some local affairs.