My friend now left me to my own devices to while away the hours till time to dress for dinner.  Heaven help the gentleman so left in Dublin, say I. It is, perhaps, the only city of its size in the world, where there is no lounge—­no promenade.  Very little experience of it will convince you that it abounds in pretty women, and has its fair share of agreeable men; but where are they in the morning?  I wish Sir Dick Lauder, instead of speculating where salmon spent the Christmas holidays, would apply his most inquiring mind to such a question as this.  True it is, however, they are not to be found.  The squares are deserted—­the streets are very nearly so—­and all that is left to the luckless wanderer in search of the beautiful, is to ogle the beauties of Dame-street, who are shopkeepers in Grafton-street, or the beauties of Grafton-street, who are shopkeepers in Dame-street.  But, confound it, how cranky I am getting—­I must be tremendously hungry.  True, it’s past six.  So now for my suit of sable, and then to dinner.

CHAPTER XIII

DUBLIN—­THE BOARDING-HOUSE—­SELECT SOCIETY.

Punctual to my appointment with O’Flaherty, I found myself a very few minutes after six o’clock at Mrs. Clanfrizzle’s door.  My very authoritative summons at the bell was answered by the appearance of a young, pale-faced invalid, in a suit of livery the taste of which bore a very unpleasant resemblance to the one I so lately figured in.  It was with considerable difficulty I persuaded this functionary to permit my carrying my hat with me to the drawing-room, a species of caution on my part—­as he esteemed it—­savouring much of distrust.  This point however, I carried, and followed him up a very ill-lighted stair to the drawing-room; here I was announced by some faint resemblance to my real name, but sufficiently near to bring my friend Tom at once to meet me, who immediately congratulated me on my fortune in coming off so well, for that the person who preceded me, Mr. Jones Blennerhasset, had been just announced as Mr. Blatherhasit—­a change the gentleman himself was not disposed to adopt—­“But come along, Harry, while we are waiting for Daly, let me make you known to some of our party; this, you must know, is a boarding-house, and always has some capital fun—­queerest people you ever met—­I have only one hint—­cut every man, woman, and child of them, if you meet them hereafter—­I do it myself, though I have lived here these six months.”  Pleasant people, thought I, these must be, with whom such a line is advisable, much less practicable.

“Mrs. Clanfrizzle, my friend Mr. Lorrequer; thinks he’ll stay the summer in town.  Mrs. Clan—­, should like him to be one of us.”  This latter was said sotto voce, and was a practice he continued to adopt in presenting me to his several friends through the room.