I got a horrid little stain in the middle of my dress that one of the young men--the young savants--was so good as to drop there.

Did you see the young savants who work under Gordon's orders?
I thought they were too forlorn; there is n't one of them you would look at.

If you can believe it, there was n't one of them that looked at me; they took no more notice of me than if I had been the charwoman.

They might have shown me some attention, at least, as the wife of the proprietor.

What is it that Gordon 's called--is n't there some other name?
If you say 'proprietor,' it sounds as if he kept an hotel.