He was evidently familiar with the performance, for a look of
eager expectation greeted most of the "business." Either he had not come
for the entire evening, or he did not wish to appear as if he had, as he
sat on one of the back benches near the passage, and frequently changed
his place. He was well, even foppishly, dressed for the period, and
appeared to be familiarly known to the loungers in the passage as a man
of some social popularity.
He had just been recognized by a man of apparently equal importance and
distinction, who had quietly and unconsciously taken a seat by his
side, and the recognition appeared equally unexpected and awkward.
The new-comer was the older and more decorous-looking, with an added
formality of manner and self-assertion that did not, however, conceal
a certain habitual shrewdness of eye and lip. He wore a full beard,
but the absence of a moustache left the upper half of his handsome and
rather satirical mouth uncovered. His dress was less pronounced than his
companion's, but of a type of older and more established gentility.
"I was a little late coming from the office to-night," said the younger
man, with an embarrassed laugh, "and I thought I'd drop in here on my
way home.
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