“‘Oh, one of those beastly rich African Jews, I’m told.’
“‘Do you know them?’
“‘Lord, no! I came with Lady M——.’
“‘And I came with Lady N——. Not a bad house, though. Champagne might have been better.’
“Sick at heart, I looked at them, turned on my heel, and went upstairs. A few minutes later they followed. I was standing talking to Lady M—— as the pair sauntered up.
“She caught one of them by the arm and said to him, ‘Oh, I must introduce you to Mr. X——, our host.’
“I pulled myself together. ‘Thanks, there is no need; we met in the supper-room a moment ago, and I had the pleasure of hearing his opinion of my champagne.’ And having said that, I put out my hand and hoped he was enjoying himself. You should have seen that young man’s face.
“Is it pleasant to be rich? No!”
He spoke so bitterly, one could not help feeling how often accumulated wealth is merely luck, when it comes from the yield of the earth or is the product of invention; but yet how often it comes through Stock-Exchange knowledge, which not infrequently is another name for organised robbery!
In an earlier chapter I have alluded to my school-days at Queen’s College, Harley Street. This was the first college opened for women, and when it had been in existence fifty years (started 1848), I—as an “old girl”—volunteered to edit a booklet giving a short account of its history; and also suggested that other “old girls,” as an encouragement to the younger generation, should contribute articles describing their own particular professions, all of which were more or less the outcome of the education they received in Harley Street.