the most acknowledged exquisites of that day, and, it must be owned,
also, by the most egregious _parvenus_. For it is noticeable that it is
your _parvenu_ who always comes nearest in fashion (so far as externals
are concerned) to your genuine exquisite. It is your _parvenu_ who is most
particular as to the cut of his coat, and the precision of his equipage,
and the minutiae of his _menage_. Those between the _parvenu_ and the
exquisite who know their own consequence, and have something solid to rest
upon, are slow in following all the caprices of fashion, and obtuse in
observation as to those niceties which neither give them another ancestor,
nor add another thousand to the account at their banker's;--as to the last,
rather indeed the contrary! There was a decided elegance about the Baron's
house and his dinner. If he had been one of the lawful kings of the
dandies, you would have cried, "What perfect taste!"--but such is human
nature, that the dandies who dined with him said to each other, "He
pretend to imitate D----! vulgar dog!" There was little affectation of your
more showy opulence. The furniture in the room was apparently simple, but,
in truth, costly, from its luxurious comfort--the ornaments and china
scattered about the commodes were of curious rarity and great value; and
the pictures on the walls were gems. At dinner, no plate was admitted on
the table. The Russian fashion, then uncommon, now more prevalent, was
adopted--fruits and flowers in old Sevres dishes of priceless _vertu_, and
in sparkling glass of Bohemian fabric. No lively servant was permitted to
wait; behind each guest stood a gentleman dressed so like the guest
himself, in fine linen and simple black, that guest and lackey seemed
stereotypes from one plate.

The viands were exquisite; the wine came from the cellars of deceased
archbishops and embassadors. The company was select; the party did not
exceed eight. Four were the eldest sons of peers (from a baron to a duke);
one was a professed wit, never to be got without a month's notice, and,
where a _parvenu_ was host, a certainty of green-pease and peaches--out of
season; the sixth, to Randal's astonishment, was Mr. Richard Avenel;
himself and the Baron made up the complement.

The eldest sons recognized each other with a meaning smile; the most
juvenile of them, indeed (it was his first year in London), had the grace
to blush and look sheepish. The others were more hardened; but they all
unit