I've put myself in their way, the Lord
knows. Maybe they think I'm your husband. Curse it, there _is_ a
difficulty! If you walked alone, in St. James Park, or past the
clubs--?"
"You scoundrel, do you think I've come to that?"
Her look advised him not to pursue his last suggestion. By this time
his expectations from their public appearances together had been sadly
dampened. They must make acquaintances; creditable ones, that is to
say, for of another kind he had enough and to spare.
But at last, after some weeks, during which he remained unapproached,
and at the end of which he came to a belated perception of the
insuperable barrier between the elect and the undesirable, and of his
own identity with the latter class, he decided he must fall back upon
his friends for what they might be worth. He had undergone many snubs
in his efforts to thrust himself upon fine gentlemen in taverns,
coffee-houses, and gaming-places. As for Madge, her solitude had been
mitigated by her enjoyment of plays and sights, of the external
glimpses of that life to which her entrance seemed impossible.
Ned began therefore to bring his associates to their lodgings:
chiefly, a gambling barrister of Lincoln's Inn, a drunken cashiered
captain of marines, and a naval surgeon's mate with an unhealthy
outbreak on his face. One meeting with each rascal sufficed to make
Madge deny her presence upon his next visit.
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