" "Elected for the long term," I sighed to myself. "I may as well make the best of it." So then I spoke up and said: "All right; let us make a start." While she was gone to cry her farewells over the pork, I gave that whole peerage away to the servants. And I asked them to take a duster and dust around a little where the nobilities had mainly lodged and promenaded; but they considered that that would be hardly worth while, and would moreover be a rather grave departure from custom, and therefore likely to make talk.

8