t with a confident air--"Mr. Alderman! Your health!"--whether more to
that great man's astonishment, or disgust, I cannot undertake to say:
but after a steady stare for a moment or two at Titmouse, "Oh! I shall
be very happy, indeed, _Mr. Gammon_," he called out, looking at the
latter gentleman, and drinking with _him_. That signified nothing,
however, to Titmouse, who, indeed, did not see anything at all pointed
or unusual, and nodding confidently to the alderman, gulped down his
wine as eagerly as before.

"Cool puppy, that, Miss Quirk, must say," snuffled the offended
alderman, to Miss Quirk.

"He's young, dear Mr. Alderman," said she, sweetly and mildly--"and when
you consider the immense fortune he is coming into--ten thousand a-year,
my papa says"----

"That don't make him less a puppy--nor a brute," interrupted the ruffled
alderman, still more indignant; for his own forty thousand pounds, the
source of all his social eminence, sank into insignificance at the sound
of the splendid income just about to drop into the lap of Titmouse. Mr.
Bluster, who headed the table on Miss Quirk's left hand side, and who
felt that he _ought_ to be, but knew that in the presence of the
alderman he _was_ not, the great man of the day, observing the
irritation under which his rival was suffering, resolved to augment it
as much as possible: wherefore he immediately raised his threatening
double-glasses to his eyes, and in a tone of ostentatious condescension,
looking down the table to Titmouse, called out, "Mr. Titmash--may I have
the honor of drinking wine with you?"

"Ya--as, brother Bumptious," replied Titmouse, (who could never bear to
hear his name mispronounced,) and raised _his_ glass to his eye; "was
just going to ask _you_!" All this was done in such a loud and impudent
tone and manner, as made Gammon still more uneasy for his young
companion. But his sally had been received by the company as a very
smart retort, and produced a roar of laughter, every one being glad to
see Mr. Bluster snubbed, who bore it in silent dignity, though his face
showed his chagrin and astonishment; and he very heartily agreed, for
once in his life, with the worshipful person opposite to him, in his
estimate of our friend Titmouse. "Mr. Titmouse! Mr. Titmouse! my
daughter wonders you won't take wine with her," said Mr. Quirk, in a low
tone--"will you join us? we're going to take a glass of champagne."

"Oh! 'pon my life--delighted"--quoth Titmo