Dickens couldn't help but tease, "Really, Benjamin? Did you move to Duke Street merely to seek a better future? I recall you telling me otherwise before. Didn't you move there to resolve your nearly 20,000 pounds of foreign debt?"
"Twenty thousand pounds?" Tennyson exclaimed in surprise, "Benjamin, what have you been spending your money on? Your income isn't low, why would you owe such a large sum?"
Disraeli defended himself, "Part of it is foreign debt from when I was younger, managing newspapers and investing in American bonds. As for the other part... do you guys really think the expenses of a political career are low? The costs of preparing for election campaigns are unavoidable. Moreover, there are countless relationships to maintain. Though the ladies, gentlemen, and Your Excellencies seldom wish to be directly associated with money, making them happy requires spending! Do you know how much I spent on those art pieces for the Earl of Lyndhurst? A full 2,500 pounds!"
