The nice
people she invited sent regrets; and those who did come were second and
third-rate people, who never miss a reception on any account, seeing
that it affords them the cheapest means of showing themselves. There
were cheap people then, just as there are cheap people now, ready
enough to put in an appearance at a lady's reception, especially if she
gave nice suppers and had daughters to be admired. Nor was it an
uncommon thing, even at that day, for a pretentious woman who had just
set up in society, and taken to the business of reception-giving, to
find herself made the target of a little innocent satire by the nice
young gentlemen she had invited to pay her homage.
Chapman differed from his wife, inasmuch as he regarded society as a
great bore. Mrs. Chapman, however, was not a little disappointed at the
way things had turned. They were flashy and rather fast people who came
to her reception; people whom nobody of established respectability knew
or cared to know--thoughtless young men, overdressed young women with
matrimonial expectations, and a few needy foreigners with small titles.
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