The administrator, however humble,
is a despot; most people will even run forward to meet him halfway,
like the servile dogs they are,' said he.
'No,' answered the Man in the Big Fur Coat, 'I should say men were
governed just by the ordinary human sense of authority. I have no
theories. I say they recognize authority and obey it. Whether it is
bureaucratic or not is merely a question of form.'
At this moment there came in a tall, rather stiff Englishman. He also
was put out at finding no room. The two men saw the manager approach
him; a few words were passed, and a card; then the manager suddenly
smiled, bowed, smirked, and finally went up to the table and begged
that the Duke of Sussex might be allowed to share it. The Duke hoped
he did not incommode these gentlemen. They assured him that, on the
contrary, they esteemed his presence a favour.
'It is our prerogative,' said the Man in the Big Fur Coat, 'to be the
host Paris entertaining her Guest.'
They would take no denial; they insisted on the Duke's dining with
them, and they told him what they had just been discussing. The Duke
listened to their theories with some _morgue,_ much _spleen,_ and no
little _phlegm,_ but with _perfect courtesy,_ and then, towards the
coffee, told them in fluent French with a strong accent, his own
opinion.
