know what that
means. There's one or two of them sort of men gets into Parliament,
and has houses as big as the Queen's palace, while hundreds of them
has their wives and children in the gutter. Who ever hears of them?
Nobody. It don't become any man to be ambitious who has got a wife
and family. If he's a bachelor, why, of course, he can go to the
Colonies. There's Mary Jane and the two little ones right down on
the sea, with their feet in the salt water. Shall we put on our hats,
Mrs. Lopez, and go and look after them?" To this proposition Emily
assented, and the two ladies went out after the children.

"Mix yourself another glass," said Sexty to his partner.

"I'd rather not. Don't ask me again. You know I never drink, and I
don't like being pressed."

"By George!--You are particular."

"What's the use of teasing a fellow to do a thing he doesn't like?"

"You won't mind me having another?"

"Fifty if you please, so that I'm not forced to join you."

"Forced! It's liberty 'all here, and you can do as you please. Only
when a fellow will take a drop with me he's better company."

"Then I'm d---- bad company, and you'd better get somebody else to
be jolly with. To tell you the truth, Sexty, I suit you better at
business than at this sort of thing. I'm like Shylock, you know."

"I don't know about Shylock, but I'm blessed if I think you suit me
very well at anything. I'm putting up with a deal of ill-usage, and
when I try to be happy with you, you won't drink, and you tell me
about Shylock. He was a Jew, wasn't he?"

"That is the general idea."

"Then you ain't very much like him, for they're a sort of people that
always have money about 'em."

"How do you suppose he made his money to begin with? What an ass you
are!"

"That's true. I am. Ever since I began putting my name on the same
bit of paper with yours I've been an ass."

"You'll have to be one a bit longer yet;--unless you mean to throw
up everything. At this present moment you are six or seven thousand
pounds richer than you were before you first met me."

"I wish I could see the money."

"That's like you. What's the use of money you can see? How are you
to make money out of money by looking at it? I like to know that my
money is fructifying."

"I like to know that it's all there,--and I did know it before I ever
saw you. I'm blessed if I know it now. Go down and join the ladies,
will you? You ain't much of a companion up here."

Shortly af