Her _salon_ was in
fact crowded with busy ranks of those swindlers of distinction who,
in opposition to their brethren of lower pretensions, (the chevaliers
d'industrie), ought surely to be termed the chevaliers de la paresse.
Among these, the brilliant air and lively effrontery of Captain Kendal
secured him a warm acceptance; and by frequenting the circle of Lady
Emlyn, he had not only the gratification of escaping from the insipid
mediocrity of the home his vices had created, but acquired the power
of indulging in others which were now still dearer to his heart.
"Vavasor Kendal was an expert player. Like other frigid egotists, his
head and heart were always at leisure; and his successes had been
the means, on more than one occasion, of extending his means of
disgraceful enjoyment. At least, however, his career lay on the
verge of a precipice; for playing at a stake beyond the limit of his
fortune, a single faltering step might at any hour precipitate him
into an abyss of shame and ruin. Amelia was often tempted to doubt
whether she had more cause to dread that intoxication of triumph,
which induced him to still further excesses, or the reverses tending
to aggravate the violence of temper to which she was an habitual
victim.
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