He moved with a shambling gait round the group and spoke to Stephen.
—Did you know that the Forsters are the kings of Belgium?—he asked.
Cranly came out through the door of the entrance hall, his hat thrust back on the nape of his neck and picking his teeth with care.
—And here's the wiseacre—said Temple.—Do you know that about the Forsters?—
He paused for an answer. Cranly dislodged a fig seed from his teeth on the point of his rude toothpick and gazed at it intently.
—The Forster family—Temple said—is descended from Baldwin the First, king of Flanders. He was called the Forester. Forester and Forster, are the same name. A descendant of Baldwin the First, captain Francis Forster, settled in Ireland and married the daughter of the last chieftain of Clanbrassil. Then there are the Blake Forsters. That's a different branch.—
—From Baldhead, king of Flanders,—Cranly repeated, rooting again deliberately at his gleaming uncovered teeth.
—Where did you pick up all that history?—O'Keeffe asked.
—I know all the history of your family, too—Temple said, turning to Stephen.—Do you know what Giraldus Cambrensis says about your family?—
—Is he descended from Baldwin too?—asked a tall consumptive student with dark eyes.
—Baldhead—Cranly repeated, sucking at a crevice in his teeth.
—Pernobilis et pervetusta familia—Temple said to Stephen.
[270]
