第25章

“Alankygawkyfellow。”saidCrawley，“tumblesovereverybody。Iknowhim；andOsborne’sagoodish-lookingfellow，withlargeblackwhiskers？”

“Enormous。”MissRebeccaSharpsaid，“andenormouslyproudofthem，Iassureyou。”

CaptainRawdonCrawleyburstintoahorse-laughbywayofreply；andbeingpressedbytheladiestoexplain，didsowhentheexplosionofhilaritywasover。”Hefancieshecanplayatbilliards。”saidhe。”IwontwohundredofhimattheCocoa-Tree。HEplay，theyoungflat！He’dhaveplayedforanythingthatday，buthisfriendCaptainDobbincarriedhimoff，hanghim！”

“Rawdon，Rawdon，don’tbesowicked。”MissCrawleyremarked，highlypleased。

“Why，ma’am，ofalltheyoungfellowsI’veseenoutoftheline，Ithinkthisfellow’sthegreenest。TarquinandDeuceacegetwhatmoneytheylikeoutofhim。He’dgotothedeucetobeseenwithalord。HepaystheirdinnersatGreenwich，andtheyinvitethecompany。”

“Andveryprettycompanytoo，Idaresay。”

“Quiteright，MissSharp。Right，asusual，MissSharp。

Uncommonprettycompany——haw，haw！”andtheCaptainlaughedmoreandmore，thinkinghehadmadeagoodjoke。

“Rawdon，don’tbenaughty！”hisauntexclaimed。

“Well，hisfather’saCityman——immenselyrich，theysay。HangthoseCityfellows，theymustbleed；andI’venotdonewithhimyet，Icantellyou。Haw，haw！”

“Fie，CaptainCrawley；IshallwarnAmelia。A

gamblinghusband！”

“Horrid，ain’the，hey？”theCaptainsaidwithgreatsolemnity；andthenadded，asuddenthoughthavingstruckhim：“Gad，Isay，ma’am，we’llhavehimhere。”

“Isheapresentablesortofaperson？”theauntinquired。

“Presentable？——oh，verywell。Youwouldn’tseeanydifference。”CaptainCrawleyanswered。”Dolet’shavehim，whenyoubegintoseeafewpeople；andhiswhatdyecallem——hisinamorato——eh，MissSharp；that’swhatyoucallit——comes。Gad，I’llwritehimanote，andhavehim；andI’lltryifhecanplaypiquetaswellasbilliards。

Wheredoeshelive，MissSharp？”

MissSharptoldCrawleytheLieutenant’stownaddress；

andafewdaysafterthisconversation，LieutenantOsbornereceivedaletter，inCaptainRawdon’sschoolboyhand，andenclosinganoteofinvitationfromMissCrawley。

RebeccadespatchedalsoaninvitationtoherdarlingAmelia，who，youmaybesure，wasreadyenoughtoacceptitwhensheheardthatGeorgewastobeoftheparty。ItwasarrangedthatAmeliawastospendthemorningwiththeladiesofParkLane，whereallwereverykindtoher。Rebeccapatronisedherwithcalmsuperiority：shewassomuchtheclevererofthetwo，andherfriendsogentleandunassuming，thatshealwaysyieldedwhenanybodychosetocommand，andsotookRebecca’sorderswithperfectmeeknessandgoodhumour。

MissCrawley’sgraciousnesswasalsoremarkable。ShecontinuedherrapturesaboutlittleAmelia，talkedaboutherbeforeherfaceasifshewereadoll，oraservant，orapicture，andadmiredherwiththemostbenevolentwonderpossible。Iadmirethatadmirationwhichthegenteelworldsometimesextendstothecommonalty。

ThereisnomoreagreeableobjectinlifethantoseeMayfairfolkscondescending。MissCrawley’sprodigiousbenevolenceratherfatiguedpoorlittleAmelia，andIamnotsurethatofthethreeladiesinParkLaneshedidnotfindhonestMissBriggsthemostagreeable。ShesympathisedwithBriggsaswithallneglectedorgentlepeople：shewasn’twhatyoucallawomanofspirit。

Georgecametodinner——arepastengarconwithCaptainCrawley。

ThegreatfamilycoachoftheOsbornestransportedhimtoParkLanefromRussellSquare；wheretheyoungladies，whowerenotthemselvesinvited，andprofessedthegreatestindifferenceatthatslight，neverthelesslookedatSirPittCrawley’snameinthebaronetage；andlearnedeverythingwhichthatworkhadtoteachabouttheCrawleyfamilyandtheirpedigree，andtheBinkies，theirrelatives，&c。，&c。RawdonCrawleyreceivedGeorgeOsbornewithgreatfranknessandgraciousness：praisedhisplayatbilliards：askedh