word even of
his own banquet.

But he had gained his point, and, as he was taken home to poor Mr
Longestaffe's house in Bruton Street, was intolerable. Lord Alfred
tried to escape after putting Madame Melmotte and her daughter into
the carriage, but Melmotte insisted on his presence. 'You might as
well come, Alfred;--there are two or three things I must settle
before I go to bed.'

'I'm about knocked up,' said the unfortunate man.

'Knocked up, nonsense! Think what I've been through. I've been all day
at the hardest work a man can do.' Had he as usual got in first,
leaving his man-of-all-work to follow, the man-of-all-work would have
escaped. Melmotte, fearing such defection, put his hand on Lord
Alfred's shoulder, and the poor fellow was beaten. As they were taken
home a continual sound of cock-crowing was audible, but as the words
were not distinguished they required no painful attention; but when
the soda water and brandy and cigars made their appearance in Mr
Longestaffe's own back room, then the trumpet was sounded with a full
blast. 'I mean to let the fellows know what's what,' said Melmotte,
walking about the room. Lord Alfred had thrown himself into an
arm-chair, and was consoling himself as best he might with tobacco.
'Give and take is a very good motto. If I scratch their back, I mean
them to scratch mine. They won't find many people to spend ten
thousand pounds in entertaining a guest of the country's as a private
enterprise. I don't know of any other man of business who could do it,
or would do it. It's not much any of them can do for me. Thank God, I
don't want 'em. But if consideration is to be shown to anybody, I
intend to be considered. The Prince treated me very scurvily, Alfred,
and I shall take an opportunity of telling him so on Monday. I suppose
a man may be allowed to speak to his own guests.'

'You might turn the election against you if you said anything the
Prince didn't like.'

'D---- the election, sir. I stand before the electors of Westminster as a
man of business, not as a courtier,--as a man who understands commercial
enterprise, not as one of the Prince's toadies. Some of you fellows in
England don't realize the matter yet; but I can tell you that I think
myself quite as great a man as any Prince.' Lord Alfred looked at him,
with strong reminiscences of the old ducal home, and shuddered. 'I'll
teach them a lesson before long. Didn't I teach 'em a lesson to-night,--
eh? They tell me