JERVOISE. (Civilian of twenty-five years' service, waking up from his
doze.) Eh? What's that? Knew who? How? I thought I was at Home, confound
you!

MACKESY. The Threegan girl's engaged, so Blayne says.

JERVOISE. (Slowly.) Engaged--en-gaged! Bless my soul! I'm getting an old
man! Little Minnie Threegan engaged. It was only the other day I went
home with them in the Surat--no, the Massilia--and she was crawling
about on her hands and knees among the ayahs. 'Used to call me the
"Tick Tack Sahib" because I showed her my watch. And that was in
Sixty--Seven-no, Seventy. Good God, how time flies! I'm an old man.
I remember when Threegan married Miss Derwent--daughter of old Hooky
Derwent--but that was before your time. And so the little baby's engaged
to have a little baby of her own! Who's the other fool?

MACKESY. Gadsby of the Pink Hussars.

JERVOISE. 'Never met him. Threegan lived in debt, married in debt,
and 'll die in debt. 'Must be glad to get the girl off his hands.

BLAYNE. Caddy has money--lucky devil. Place at Home, too.

DOONE. He comes of first-class stock. 'Can't quite understand his being
caught by a Colonel's daughter, and (looking cautiously round room.)
Black Infantry at that! No offence to you, Blayne.

BLAYNE. (Stiffly.) Not much, thaanks.

CURTISS. (Quoting motto of Irregular Moguls.) "We are what we are," eh,
old man? But Gandy was such a superior animal as a rule. Why didn't he
go Home and pick his wife there?

MACKESY. They are all alike when they come to the turn into the
straight. About thirty a man begins to get sick of living alone.

CURTISS. And of the eternal muttony-chop in the morning.

DOONE. It's a dead goat as a rule, but go on, Mackesy.

MACKESY. If a man's once taken that way nothing will hold him, Do you
remember Benoit of your service, Doone? They transferred him to Tharanda
when his time came, and he married a platelayer's daughter, or something
of that kind. She was the only female about the place.

DONE. Yes, poor brute. That smashed Benoit's chances of promotion
altogether. Mrs. Benoit used to ask "Was you gem' to the dance this
evenin'?"

CURTISS. Hang it all! Gandy hasn't married beneath him. There's no
tarbrush in the family, I suppose.

JERVOISE. Tar-brush! Not an anna. You young fellows talk as though
the man was doing the girl an honor in marrying her. You're all too
conceited--nothing's good enough for you.

BLAYNE. Not even an empty Club, a dam' bad dinne