They were such people as Mr.and Mrs.
Talbot naturally drew around them.

The minister was invited, partly as a matter of course, and partly to occupy Mr.Schoonmaker on the subject of Bibles.

The doctor was invited because Mrs.Talbot was fond of him, and because he always took "such an interest in the family." When Mr.Belcher arrived at Talbot's beautiful but quiet house, the guests had all assembled, and, clothing their faces with that veneer of smile which hungry people who are about to dine at another man's expense feel compelled to wear in the presence of their host, they were chatting over the news of the day.
It is probable that the great city was never the scene of a personal introduction that gave more quiet amusement to an assemblage of guests than that of the presentation of Mr.Belcher.That gentleman's first impression as he entered the room was that Talbot had invited a company of clergymen to meet him.

His look of surprise as he took a survey of the assembly was that of a knave who found himself for the first time in good company; but as he looked from the gentlemen to the ladies, in their gay costumes and display of costly jewelry, he concluded that they could not be the wives of clergymen.

The quiet self-possession of the group, and the consciousness that he was not _en regle_ in the matter of dress, oppressed him; but he was bold, and he knew that they knew that he was worth a million of dollars.
The "stiff upper lip" was placed at its stiffest in the midst of his florid expanse of face, as, standing still, in the center of the room, he greeted one after another to whom he was presented, in a way peculiarly his own.
He had never been in the habit of lifting his hat, in courtesy to man or woman.