At the end of the hall, on a slab of porphyry,
was a marble bust, with this inscription on it, '_Fundator_.' It was the
first Sidonia, by Chantrey.
'I will wait here, thank you,' said Tancred, looking round; and then,
with some hesitation, he added, 'I have an appointment here at two
o'clock.'
As he spoke, that hour sounded from the belfry of an old city church
that was at hand, and then was taken up by the chimes of a large German
clock in the hall.
'It may be,' said the porter, 'but I can't disturb master now; the
Spanish ambassador is with him, and others are waiting. When he is gone,
a clerk will take in your letter with some others that are here.'
At this moment, and while Tancred remained in the hall, various persons
entered, and, without noticing the porter, pursued their way across the
apartment.
'And where are those persons going?' inquired Tancred.
The porter looked at the enquirer with a blended gaze of curiosity and
contempt, and then negligently answered him without looking in Tancred's
face, and while he was brushing up the hearth, 'Some are going to the
counting-house, and some are going to the Bank, I should think.'
'I wonder if our hall porter is such an infernal bully as Monsieur de
Sidonia's!' thought Tancred.
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