The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 187: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

170 REYNOLDS’ WORKS in the street proceeding to his club or to the House of Lords, and being asked whither he was going, he would not immediately reply. It was possible he might be on his way to the one place or the other, but he would not pledge him- self to the fact; he would rather not compromise himself by the assurance that 1t was so,— many things might happen in the interval. Indeed, Lord Petersfield had a holy abhorrence of all downright questions, and never could give a prompt or straightforward answer. He even once, when accosted at a party and asked if he were not Lord Petersfield, looked positively dismayed at such a pointed question, replying that he did not exactly know, he had not considered upon it, he would rather not compromise himself, he might be Lord Petersfield, it was possible, but still no man ought to be called upon to answer in a hurry a query of such grave personal importance. Nay, it was even whispered that when his lordship (who married late in life) conducted his intended to the altar, and was asked ‘‘ whether he would take that woman to be his wife,” his countenance grew awfully grave and his looks profoundly solemn, while he assured the clergyman that he was not prepared to speak decidedly upon the point, he did not like to compromise himself, and had a very particular aversion to such pointed queries. Such was Lord Petersfield, one of Lady Saxondale’s guests on the occasion on which we are writing. Mr. Marlow, Edmund’s other guardian (of the firm of Marlow and Mal- ton), was also invited, and a very different person he was from his colleague in the trusteeship. For precisely as Lord Petersfield was slow, pompous, and heavy, was the solicitor quick in action, glib in speech, and volatile in motion. When the door was thrown open and his name was announced, he rushed in all in a flurry, just as 1f he were late for an important case coming on before the Judges at Westminster, and in the space of three minutes he would talk more than Lord Petersfield ever spoke in three years. A quick succession of guests soon followed the arrival of Lord Petersfield and Mr. Marlow, —lords and ladies, right honourables and honourables, in short, a brillant company to the number of fifty, for this was a very grand dinner- party that Lady Saxondale was giving on the present CONNIE OO KS (E(0)