fectly conceited and
satisfied with himself.

Then they drove to the parental brew-house. Foker's Entire is composed
in an enormous pile of buildings, not far from the Grey Friars, and the
name of that well-known firm is gilded upon innumerable public-house
signs, tenanted by its vassals in the neighbourhood; and the venerable
junior partner and manager did honour to the young lord of the vats
and his friend, and served them with silver flagons of brown-stout, so
strong, that you would have thought, not only the young men, but the
very horse Mr. Harry Foker drove, was affected by the potency of the
drink, for he rushed home to the west-end of the town at a rapid pace,
which endangered the pie-stalls and the women on the crossings, and
brought the cab-steps into collision with the posts at the street
corners, and caused Stoopid to swing fearfully on his board behind.

The Major was quite pleased when Pen was with his young acquaintance;
listened to Mr. Foker's artless stories with the greatest interest; gave
the two boys a fine dinner at a Covent Garden Coffee-house, whence they
proceeded to the play; but was above all happy when Mr. and Lady Agnes
Foker, who happened to be in London, requested the pleasure of Major
Pendennis and Mr. Arthur Pendennis's company at dinner in Grosvenor
Street. "Having obtained the entree into Lady Agnes Foker's house," he
said to Pen with an affectionate solemnity which befitted the importance
of the occasion, "it behoves you, my dear boy, to keep it. You must mind
and never neglect to call in Grosvenor Street when you come to London.
I recommend you to read up carefully, in Debrett, the alliances and
genealogy of the Earls of Rosherville, and if you can, to make some
trifling allusions to the family, something historical, neat, and
complimentary, and that sort of thing, which you, who have a poetic
fancy, can do pretty well. Mr. Foker himself is a worthy man, though not
of high extraction or indeed much education. He always makes a point of
having some of the family porter served round after dinner, which you
will on no account refuse, and which I shall drink myself, though all
beer disagrees with me confoundedly." And the heroic martyr did actually
sacrifice himself, as he said he would, on the day when the dinner took
place, and old Mr. Foker, at the head of his table, made his usual joke
about Foker's Entire. We should all of us, I am sure, have liked to see
the Major's grin, when the