"I'm the most envied man I know--so that if I were a shade less amiable I should be one of the most hated." Mr.Longdon laughed, yet not quite as if they were joking.

"I see.

Your pleasant way carries it off." Vanderbank was, however, not serious.

"Wouldn't it carry off anything ?" Again his friend, through the pince-nez, appeared to crown him with a Whitehall cornice.

"I think I ought to let you know I'm studying you.
It's really fair to tell you," he continued with an earnestness not discomposed by the indulgence in Vanderbank's face.