swaggered into his mother's presence. His handsome face was deeply
flushed. He was laughing boisterously; but there was that in his
aspect which made his sister turn away with a look of repulsion,
though his mother's glance rested on him with a look of admiring
pride that savoured of adoration. In her fond and foolish eyes he
was perfection, and the more he copied the vices and the follies of
the gallants about the person of the King, the prouder did his vain
and weak mother become of him.

"Ho! ho! ho! such a bit of fun!"

It is impossible to give Frederick Mason's words verbatim, as he
seldom opened his lips without an oath, and inter-larded his talk
with coarse jests in English and fragments of ribaldry in vile
French, till it would scarce be intelligible to the reader of
today.

"Such a prime bit of fun! Who would have thought that little Dorcas
next door would grow up such a marvelous pretty damsel! By my
troth, what a slap she did give me in return for my kiss!"

Gertrude suddenly turned upon her brother with flashing eyes.

"Think shame of yourself, Frederick! You disgrace your boasted
manhood. How dare you annoy with your coarse gallantry the daughter
of our father's oldest friend, and that too in the open streets!"

"How dare you speak so to your brother, girl?" cried Madam,
bristling up like an angry mother hen. "What call have you to chide
him? Is he answerable to you for his acts?"