table, had fairly pinned in the poor
manager, who continued at intervals upon every perplexing interruption
from his antagonist to wheel round and face him like a stag at bay.
Nearer to Bertram sate a man, whose curved nose--black hair--ardent
looks--and sallow complexion, at once announced him as a Frenchman:
he was occupied in painting a portrait of one actress at the same
time that he was making complimentary grimaces to three others.
In the chimney-corner, and over against the Dutchman, was seated
an elderly man, of short thick-set person, dressed in a shabby grey
coat--boots--and a white hat. His features were not in themselves very
striking, but had been habitually composed to one intense expression of
dissatisfaction with all about him. Like the Dutchman he looked away
from the company towards the fire, and appeared to take no interest in
any thing which went on: but this in _him_ was mere affectation. The
Dutchman, as a child could see, was most sincerely indifferent to every
thing but the festoons of smoke which formed about him; nor ever seemed
to suffer in his peace of mind except when this aerial drapery was rent
or too much attenuated: then indeed he puffed with a perceptible
agitation, until he had reinstated the vapoury awning--which done he
immediately recovered his equanimity. But as to White Hat, by the
complexity of his man[oe]uvres for disguising his interest in the
conversation about him--by uniformly shifting his chair upon the
approximation of any other chair--and by the jealous anxiety with which
he affected to turn away his head if any person were talking near him,
he made it sufficiently evident that no one person in the room paid so
earnest an attention to what was passing as himself. _He_ also had
resorted to a pipe for the sake of expressing his abstraction from the
world about him; but how different were his short--uneasy--asthmatic
puffs from the floating pomp with which the Dutchman sent up his
voluminous exhalations! In his right hand he held a newspaper which he
appeared to be reading; sometimes glancing his eye over it, sometimes
dwelling upon the words as if he were spelling them; in general however
giving himself a great deal of trouble to impress upon all about him
that he took little or no interest in any thing he read.

These were the most noticeable persons of the company to which Bertram
now advanced; taking care at the same time to call for wine in an
imposing tone of voice. A