A person who had the power to reward attention with grand dinners and splendid receptions was certainly not a person to be treated lightly.
Mr.Tunbridge undertook to talk finance with him, but retired under the laugh raised by Mr.Belcher's statement that he had been so busy making money that he had had no time to consider questions of finance.

Mr.
Schoonmaker and the minister were deep in Bibles, and on referring some question to Mr.Belcher concerning "The Breeches Bible," received in reply the statement that he had never arrived any nearer a Breeches Bible than a pocket handkerchief with the Lord's Prayer on it.

Mr.
Cavendish simply sat and criticised the rest.

He had never seen anybody yet who knew anything about finance.

The Chamber of Commerce was a set of old women, the Secretary of the Treasury was an ass, and the Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means was a person he should be unwilling to take as an office-boy.