Capitalists and financiers -- Fiction; Commercial crimes -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction; Mate selection -- Fiction; Satire
"I'm not going to talk about it here."
"Not going to talk about it here?"
"No. This is a public room."
"I am going to talk about it," said Sir Felix, raising his voice.
"Will any fellow come up-stairs and play a game of billiards?" said
Miles Grendall rising from his chair. Then he walked slowly out of
the room, leaving Sir Felix to take what revenge he pleased. For a
moment Sir Felix thought that he would expose the transaction to the
whole room; but he was afraid, thinking that Miles Grendall was a
more popular man than himself.
It was Sunday night; but not the less were the gamblers assembled in
the card-room at about eleven. Dolly Longestaffe was there, and with
him the two lords, and Sir Felix, and Miles Grendall of course, and,
I regret to say, a much better man than any of them, Paul Montague.
Sir Felix had doubted much as to the propriety of joining the party.
What was the use of playing with a man who seemed by general consent
to be liberated from any obligation to pay? But then if he did not
play with him, where should he find another gambling table? They
began with whist, but soon laid that aside and devoted themselves to
loo. The least respected man in that confraternity was Grendall, and
yet it was in compliance with the persistency of his suggestion that
they gave up the nobler game. "Let's stick to whist; I like cutting
out," said Grasslough. "It's much more jolly having nothing to do now
and then; one can always bet," said Dolly shortly afterwards. "I hate
loo," said Sir Felix in answer to a third application. "I like whist
best," said Nidderdale, "but I'll play anything anybody likes;--pitch
and toss if you please." But Miles Grendall had his way, and loo was
the game.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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