He had never known anything more charming than the attention they paid to what he said.

It was like a large sheet of clean, fine-grained drawing-paper, all ready to be washed over with effective splashes of water-color.

He had never had any cousins, and he had never before found himself in contact so unrestricted with young unmarried ladies.

He was extremely fond of the society of ladies, and it was new to him that it might be enjoyed in just this manner.

At first he hardly knew what to make of his state of mind.