DINING, AS IT IS PRACTISED ABOUT BEDFORD SQUARE. 331 



unmercifully, while making his obeisance to the lady of the house, 

 and saluting the rest of the party. Dewitt, perceiving his forlorn 

 condition, thus attempted to relieve him : " Aha, King ! I know how 

 we have succeeded in getting you. You found out that the fair 



Emily W was to favour us with her presence, and so you have 



come to get a sight of her." Mr. King looked confused and embar- 

 rassed at the supposition of such a thing ; and his fingers received a 

 more severe twist than they had yet undergone. " Well, well," re- 

 sumed his tormentor, e( we can forgive you : her beauty is a sufficient 

 excuse." " Her beauty is, indeed, unrivalled," solemnly answered 

 the young barrister. " Aye, that it is," said the other, " so take 

 care of your heart, H , and see ! here she comes. 1 ' 



At this moment the unrivalled beauty in question made her ap- 

 pearance, attended by her brother. She was tall, slim, and fair, with 

 a profusion of yellow locks arranged somewhat in contempt of the 

 fashion ; but there was a coarseness in her expression,, if not actually 

 in her features ; and every movement of her figure, while it suffered 

 one to perceive that the symmetry was very incomplete, betrayed a 

 vulgarity of mind still more offensive. But what pleased me less 

 than all, was the assumption of the airs of a beauty; and I turned 

 from the contemplation of the lady to her brother, who evidently did 

 not think himself a person to be overlooked. A delicate olive- 

 coloured coat, with a broad black velvet collar, adorned his upper 

 man, affording an ample prospect of a black and scarlet waistcoat, 

 and retiring modestly into a point behind, so as to conceal as little as 

 possible of the dark green troisicmes. 



The longer I looked upon this sprig of legal ton, the more I was 

 disgusted, and ill humour was fast creeping upon me, when the door 

 opened, and the master of the ceremonies announced in a tone which 

 had acquired more than usual importance, " Mr. Justice Melbourne 

 and Miss Melbourne." If a spirit had descended in the midst of 

 obsequious clouds, and to the sound of soft music, I could not have 

 been more joyfully surprised. A well-known figure entered the room 

 and glided past me, and a bright face gave me a smile of recognition 

 as she made her way into the circle. A general disturbance took 

 place ; what was to be done ? The seat of honour, that is, a most un- 

 luxurious sofa, the chief ornament of the room, was already quite 

 filled by the fat, taper, and tall persons of the Mesdames Marsden 

 and Dewitt, and Miss Wallace : Mr. Justice Melbourne's niece must 

 have a place of distinction ; Mrs. Dewitt stood up, still the vacuity 

 was not very apparent ; Miss Wallace stuck fast : Mrs. Marsden 

 good-humouredly bustled away, and plunged into an arm-chair, say- 

 ing, " For my part I don't care where I sit : now Marsden, he is so 

 veryofbnd of sitting easy." But before this diversion could be accom- 

 plished in Miss Melbourne's favour, she had taken up a less honour- 

 able position, and I was at her side. She seemed glad to meet some- 

 body whom she had seen before, for every other person in the room 

 was unknown to her, as she was new to these scenes, and had been 

 invited in compliment to her uncle, whom she had come to London to 

 visit. He bore outward marks of being what fame reported him, a 

 person who might do honour to any profession. I was comparing 



