being billeted in two remote corners:
he, in the glare of a red velvet lady; I,
in the gloom of Hamlefs aunt. The
dinner was very long, and the conver
sation was about the Aristocracy - and
Blood. Mrs. Waterbrook repeatedly told
us, that if she had a weakness, it was
Blood.
It occurred to me several times that we
should have got on better, if we had
not been quite so genteel. We were so
exceedingly genteel, that our scope was
very limited. A Mr. and Mrs. Gulpidge
were of the party, who had something
to do at second-hand (at least, Mr.
Gulpidge had) with the law business of
the Bank; and what with the Bank, and
what with the Treasury, we were as ex
clusive as the Court Circular. To mend
the matter, Hamlefs aunt had the
family failing of indulging in soliloquy,
and held forth in a desoltury manner,
by herself, on every topic that was
introduced. These were few enough, to
be sure; but as we always fell back
upon Blood, she had as wide a field for
abstract speculation as her nephew
himself.
We might have been a party of Ogres,
the conversation assumed such a
sanguine complexion.
'I confess I am of Mrs. Waterbrook's
opinion/ said Mr. Waterbrook, with his
wine-glass at his eye. 'Other things are
all very well in their way, but give me
Blood!'
'Oh! There is nothing,' observed
Hamlefs aunt, 'so satisfactory to one!
There is nothing that is so much one's
beau idéal of - of all that sort of thing,
speaking generally. There are some low
minds (not many, I am happy to
believe, but there are some) that would
prefer to do what I should call bow
down before idols. Positively Idols!
Before services, intellect, and so on. But
these are intangible points. Blood is
not so. We see Blood in a nose, and we
know it. We meet with it in a chin, and
we say: "There it is! Thafs Blood!" It is
an actual matter of fact. We point it
out. It admits of no doubt.'
The simpering fellow with the weak
legs, who had taken Agnes down,
stated the question more decisively yet,
I thought.
'Oh, you know, deuce take it,' said this
gentleman, looking round the board
with an imbecile smile, 'we can't forego
Blood, you know. We must have Blood,
you know. Some young fellows, you
know, may be a little behind their
station, perhaps, in point of education
and behaviour, and may go a little
wrong, you know, and get themselves
and other people into a variety of
fixes - and all that - but deuce take it,
ifs delightful to reflect that they've got
Blood in 'em. Myself, I'd rather at any
time be knocked down by a man who
had got Blood in him, than I'd be
picked up by a man who hadn't.'
Hoewel in het citaat uit Erik
74
Hamlets aunt
