And the old gentlemen seem so happy as they
walk round the room, and smile on all the acquaintances of their early
days; and tell every one they look so well, and their daughters are so
handsome. It ain't possible they are bored, and they try not even to
look so. And the room is so well lighted, and so well filled, perhaps
a little too much so to leave space for the dancers; but yet not more
so than is fashionable. And then the young gentlemen talk so
enchantingly about Paris, and London, and Rome, and so disparagingly
of home, it is quite refreshing to hear them. And they have been in
such high society abroad, they ought to be well bred, for they know
John Manners, and all the Manners family, and well informed in
politics; for they know John Russell, who never says I'll be hanged if
I do this or that, but I will be beheaded if I do; in allusion to one
of his great ancestors who was as innocent of trying to subvert the
constitution as he is. And they have often seen 'Albert, Albert,
Prince of Wales, and all the royal family,' as they say in England for
shortness. They have travelled with their eyes open, ears open, mouths
open, and pockets open. They have heard, seen, tasted, and bought
everything worth having. They are capital judges of wine, and that
reminds them there is lots of the best in the next room; but they soon
discover they can't have it in perfection in America.
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