The Works Author:William Makepeace Thackeray Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. CARRIES THE READER BOTH TO RICHMOND AND GREENWICH. OOE Foker found the dinner at Eichmond to be the most dreary entertainment upon which ever m... more »ortal man wasted his guineas. " I wonder how the deuce I could ever have liked these people, "he thought in his own mind. " Why, I can see the crows'-feet under Eougemont's eyes, and the paint on her cheeks is laid on as thick as Clown's in a pantomime! The way in which that Pinckney talks slang is quite disgusting. I hate chaff in a woman. And old Colchicum ! that old Col, coming down here in his brougham, with his coronet on it, and sitting bodkin between Mademoiselle Coralie and her mother! It's too bad. An English peer, and a horse-rider of Franconi's !—It won't do; by Jove, it won't do. I ain't proud ; but it will not do ! " " Twopence-halfpenny for your thoughts, Fokey ! " cried out Miss Eougemont, taking her cigar from her truly vermilion lips, as she beheld the young fellow lost in thought, seated at the head of his table, amidst melting ices, and cut pineapples, and bottles full and empty, and cigar-ashes VOL. II. D 4 scattered on fruit, and the ruins of a dessert which had no pleasure for him. "Does Foker ever think?" drawled out Mr. Poyntz. " Foker, here is a considerable sum of money offered by a fail- capitalist at this end of the table for the present emanations of your valuable and acute intellect, old boy ! " " What the deuce is that Poyntz a talking about ? " Miss Pinckney asked of her neighbour. " I hate him. He's a drawlin', sneerin' beast." "What a droll of a little man is that little Fokare, my lor," Mademoiselle Coralie said, in her own language, and with the rich twang of that sunny Gascony in which her swarthy cheeks and bright black eyes had got then- fire. "What a droll of a man!...« less