The wedding of Henry Gowan and Minnie Meagles has a fixed date. A large amount of Barnacles plan to attend the affair, but not all of them. They are too numerous to be contained in a building. Also, being public servants, they are dispersed all over the world.
Mrs. Gowan confers with Mr. Meagles frequently to discuss additions to the guest list and her son's debts.
Arthur plans to attend, despite not wanting to. He feels obligated by his promise to Pet. Daniel Doyce begs to be excluded, not thinking it wise to be in the room with a bunch of Barnacles when he currently has a problem with them.
Arthur sets out to befriend Henry Gowan. Henry tells him that he is a disappointed man, having willfully chosen a field that reduced him to poverty rather than one that would have caused him to be
