Melmotte kept his seat steadily till seven, at which hour the House adjourned till nine. He was one of the last to leave, and then with a slow step,--with almost majestic steps,--he descended to the dining-room and ordered his dinner. There were many men there, and some little difficulty about a seat. No one was very willing to make room for him. But at last he secured a place, almost jostling some unfortunate who was there before him. It was impossible to expel him,--almost as impossible to sit next him. Even the waiters were unwilling to serve him;--but with patience and endurance he did at last get his dinner. He was there in his right, as a member of the House of Commons, and there was no ground on which such service as he required could be refused to him. It was not long before he had the table all to himself. But of this he took no apparent notice. He spoke loudly to the waiters and drank his bottle of champagne with much apparent enjoyment. Since his friendly intercourse with Nidderdale no one had spoken to him, nor had he spoken to any man. They who watched him declared among themselves that he was happy in his own audacity;--but in truth he was probably at that moment the most utterly wretched man in London. He would have better studied his personal comfort had he gone to his bed, and spent his evening in groans and wailings. But even he, with all the world now gone from him, with nothing before him but the extremest misery which the indignation of offended laws could inflict, was able to spend the last moments of his freedom in making a reputation at any rate for audacity. It was thus that Augustus Melmotte wrapped his toga around him before his death!

Melmotte kept his seat steadily till seven, when the House adjourned till nine. He was one of the last to leave, and then, almost majestically, he descended to the dining-room and ordered his dinner. There were many men there, and no one was very willing to make room for him. But at last he secured a place. Even the waiters were unwilling to serve him; but with patience and endurance he did eventually get his dinner. He was there in his right, as a member of the House of Commons, and such service could not be refused to him.
It was not long before he had the table to himself. But of this he took no apparent notice. He spoke loudly to the waiters and drank his bottle of champagne with evident enjoyment. He looked happy enough; but in truth he was probably the most utterly wretched man in London. Yet, with all the world now gone from him, with nothing before him but extreme misery, he was able to spend the last moments of his freedom in making a reputation for audacity.
