never meet; that one
room could not contain the two unequal families X and Y; and that
while one rested on the basis of trade, and the other on professional
skill, it was unreasonable to expect the apex Mrs. Y to coincide with
the apex Mrs. X. Finally the New Geometry culminated in a triumphant
process, which proved that while Mrs. Simpson was allowed to imbibe
tea and scandal in the company of the great, her husband must sip his
gin and water in solitude at home.

We had always been select in Troy; but then, In the old days, _all_
Troy had been included in the term. When Mr. Simpson had spoken of
the "Jack of Oaks" (meaning the Knave of Clubs), or had said
"fainaiguing" (where others said "revoking"), we had pretended not to
notice it, until at length we actually did not. So that a human as
well as a philological interest attaches to the date when fashion
narrowed the meaning of _Cumeelfo_ to exclude the Jack of Oaks, and
sent Mr. Simpson home to his gin and water.

The change was discussed with some asperity in the bar-parlour of the
"Man-o'-War."

"The hupper classes in Troy es bloomin' fine nowadays," remarked
Rechab Geddye (locally known as Rekkub) over his beer on the night
when the resignations of Mr. Buzza Junior and Mr. Moggridge had been
received by the "Jolly Trojans."

"Ef they gets the leastest bit finer, us shan't be able to see mun,"
answered Bill Odgers, who was reckoned a wit. "I have heerd tell as
Trojans was cousins an' hail-fellow-well-met all the world over; but
the hayleet o' this place es a-gettin' a bit above itsel'."

"That's a true word, Bill," interposed Mrs. Dymond from the bar; "an'
to say 'Gie us this day our daily bread,' an' then turn up a nose at
good saffron cake es flyin' i' the face o' Pruvvidence, an' no less."

"I niver knawed good to come o' titled gentry yet," said Bill.

"You doan't say that?" exclaimed Rekkub, who was an admirer of Bill's
Radical views.

"I do, tho'. Look at King Richard--him i' the play-actin'. I reckon
he was wan o' the hupper ten ef anybody. An' what does he do?
Why, throttles a pair o' babbies, puts a gen'l'm'n he'd a gridge agen
into a cask o' wine--which were the spoliation o' both--murders 'most
ivery wan he claps eyes on, an' then when he've a-got the jumps an'
sees the sperrits an' blue fire, goes off an' offers to swap hes
whole bloomin' kingdom for a hoss--a hoss, mind you, he hadn' seen,
let alone not bein' in a state o' mind to jed