What was Mr. Palliser to do? He did not know whether, in accordance with the rules of the world in which he lived, he ought to pay it, or ought to leave it; and certainly the landlord could not tell him. Then he thought of his wife. He could not go back to his wife without having done something; so, as a first measure, he paid the bill. The landlord's eyes glittered, and he receipted it in the most becoming manner.

Mr. Palliser did not know whether, in the eyes of the world, he ought to pay it, or leave it. Then he thought of his wife. He could not go back to her without having done something; so he paid the bill.
