"Good heavens, my dear fellow, don't tell me you haven't heard of him! Really, now, really, you bury yourself--believe me, you do. Why, for nautical parts, the stage hasn't his equal; and a voice, they tell me, like Incledon's in his prime! Mrs. Basket and I have reserved seats, and, now I come to think of it, we had best step down to the theatre before dining, book yours, and arrange it so that we sit in a row. The house will be crowded, if 'tis only for a view of his Royal Highness, who will certainly attend if--hem!--equal to the effort." "I had not heard of his being indisposed." "Nor is he, at this hour. But now and then . . . after his fourth bottle . . . However, as I say, the house will certainly be crowded." "You'll excuse me, my friend, if I beg that you and your good wife will trot off to the theatre to-night without troubling about me. The--er--fact is, I have come up to Plymouth primarily to consult a lawyer on a somewhat delicate business, and shall be glad of a few hours' solitude this evening to prepare my case. Do you happen, by the way, to know of a good lawyer? I wish for the very best advice procurable." "Eh--eh? Delicate business, you say? My dear fellow, no entanglement, I hope? You always _were_, you know. . . . But I've said it a thousand times--you ought to get married; and Maria agrees with me . . . a man of your presence, carrying his years as you do. Eh? You're blushing, man. Then maybe 'tis the real thing, and you've come up to talk over settlements?" "Tut-tut!" interposed the Major, who indeed had coloured up, and apparently not with annoyance. "There's no woman at all in the case I'm referring to." But here he checked himself. "Nay, I forgot; I'm wrong there," he admitted; "and if she hadn't had twins, I don't believe 'twould have happened." "Curious circumstance to forget," murmured Mr. Basket; but, perceiving that the Major was indisposed to be communicative, pressed him no further.