despite the effects of alcohol on the mans vocal chords , there was no doubt from the clipped vowels and swallowed consonants that martins fellow drinker must have , at some time , been a member of what would still be described as the english aristocracy : at some time because judging from his dirty clothes , and long , straggling , greasy hair and white beard , tinged orange around the mouth from nicotine , he did not give the appearance of having visited any ancestoral pile for many a long generation .