"I beg that this man shall not be allowed to inflict himself upon our party.
I particularly desire to form my own impression of the historic city, that city that did so much for the reputation of Sir Henry Bulwer Lytton.

Besides, these people mount up ridiculously, and with servants at home on half wages, and Consols in the state they are, one is really compelled to economise." [Illustration: "I'm not a crowned head!"] It was difficult to protest against Mrs.Portheris's regulations, and impossible to contravene them, so I have nothing to report of that guide but his card, which bore the name "Antonio Plicco," and his memory, which is a blank.
There was an ascent, and Mrs.Portheris mounted it proudly.

I pointed out to poppa half-way up that his esteemed relative hadn't turned a hair, but he was inclined to be incredulous; said you couldn't tell what was going on in the Department of the Interior.

The Senator often uses a political reference to carry him over a delicate allusion.

Flowering shrubs and bushes lined the path we climbed, silent in the sunshine, dustily decorative, and at the top the turning of a key let us into a strange place.