He turned several pages before he said,

“Here is one the others have not heard,

‘In the race for a gentleman’s affections, his horses come first, his Club second, his dogs third. Also ran are a number of pretty women, but they seldom last the course’.”

Those listening laughed and the Earl said,

“It certainly sounds amusing.”

“Give us another!” Lord Worcester proposed.

Lord Alvanley turned a page and read,

“A gentleman does not listen at keyholes, but then he listens to no one but himself!”

“That’s you, Poodle!” the Duke of Argyll said. “The Person of Quality must have met you!”

“Here is another!” Lord Alvanley went on.

‘A gentleman is too sporting to pull his horses or cheat at cards, but he has no qualms about seducing his best friend’s wife!’”

The Earl looked around his circle of friends.

“Which of you is responsible for this?” he asked. “I doubt if it is you, Skeffington, but I rather suspect Alvanley.”

“I swear to you on my honour that I have not written it, even though I would like to have done so,” Lord Alvanley replied. “But now I think of it, it is too witty to be written by anyone who is not a member.”

“Sheer conceit!” the Earl snapped. “A great number of the members of this Club are incapable of writing their own names, let alone a book!”

They laughed and teased each other, but, while he was talking, Lord Alvanley had put the book down on the table in front of him and the Earl picked it up.

There were not many pages, but on each one there were six witty comments and yet there was nothing vicious in what was said.

The Earl read,

“A gentleman has two sets of rules regarding infidelity, one for himself and another for his wife.”

Below this was,

“A dandy is like a peacock, all tail and little brain!”

He thought that applied to all the dandies he knew and whom he also despised.

Aloud he said,

“I wonder if we shall ever discover who the author is? I think he will be far too discreet to admit that he is responsible for what a number of people would find uncomfortably true.”

“You speak for yourself, Hellington!” the Duke of Argyll answered. “I refuse to admit that anything the book says is the truth and what is more I resent the impertinence of somebody we might even call a friend putting us in print.”

“I agree with you,” Lord Worcester said. “It’s unsporting.”

“If you ask me,” the Earl said, “you all have guilty consciences and are frightened of what you will read next. But at least as far as I can ascertain the author mentions no names.”