men, when a glance below his chin discomposed his outward face. 'Oh,
confound the fellow!' he said, with simple frankness, and was humorously
ruffled, having seen absurd blots of smutty knuckles distributed over the
maiden waistcoat.

His outcry was no more than the confidential communication of a genial
spirit with that distinctive article of his attire. At the same time,
for these friendly people about him to share the fun of the annoyance,
he looked hastily brightly back, seeming with the contraction of his
brows to frown, on the little band of observant Samaritans; in the centre
of whom a man who knew himself honourably unclean, perhaps consequently a
bit of a political jewel, hearing one of their number confounded for his
pains, and by the wearer of a superfine dashing-white waistcoat, was
moved to take notice of the total deficiency of gratitude in this kind of
gentleman's look and pocket. If we ask for nothing for helping gentlemen
to stand upright on their legs, and get it, we expect civility into the
bargain. Moreover, there are reasons in nature why we choose to give
sign of a particular surliness when our wealthy superiors would have us
think their condescending grins are cordials.

The gentleman's eyes were followed on a second hurried downward grimace,
the necessitated wrinkles of which could be stretched by malevolence to a
semblance of haughty disgust; reminding us, through our readings in
journals, of the wicked overblown Prince Regent and his Court, together
with the view taken of honest labour in the mind of supercilious luxury,
even if indebted to it freshly for a trifle; and the hoar-headed
nineteenth-century billow of democratic ire craved the word to be set
swelling.

'Am I the fellow you mean, sir?' the man said.