Pagina 527 de 817

Mrs. Gardiner was standing a little behind; and on her pausing,

he asked her if she would do him the honour of introducing him to

her friends. This was a stroke of civility for which she was

quite unprepared; and she could hardly suppress a smile at his

being now seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people,

against whom his pride had revolted, in his offer to herself.

"What will be his surprise," thought she, "when he knows who they

are! He takes them now for people of fashion."