'I saw the place was crowded, and with Napoleonic instinct decided
that I could only make room by insulting somebody. It is cause for
congratulation that my gibes, which Raggles, a foolish youth, mistakes
for wit, have caused the disappearance of a person who lives in open sin;
thereby vacating two seats, and allowing me to eat a humble meal with
ample room for my elbows.'

Marie brought him the bill of fare, and he looked at it gravely.

'I will have a vanilla ice, O well-beloved, and a wing of a tender
chicken, a fried sole, and some excellent pea-soup.'

'_Bien, un potage, une sole,_ one chicken, and an ice.'

'But why should you serve them in that order rather than in the order I
gave you?'

Marie and the two Frenchwomen who were still in the room broke into
exclamations at this extravagance, but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand.

'I shall start with the ice, O Marie, to cool the passion with which
your eyes inflame me, and then without hesitation I will devour the wing
of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile. I shall then
proceed to a fresh sole, and with the pea-soup I will finish a not
unsustaining meal.'

Having succeeded in capturing the attention of everyone in the room,
Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named.
Margaret and Burdon watched him with scornful eyes, but Susie, who was
not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice, looked at him