At the same time, he was not so dull but that a good woman commanded his respect.

Personally, he did not attempt to analyse the marvel of a saintly woman.

He would take off his hat, and would silence the light-tongued and the vicious in her presence--much as the Irish keeper of a Bowery hall will humble himself before a Sister of Mercy, and pay toll to charity with a willing and reverent hand.

But he would not think much upon the question of why he did so.
A man in his situation who comes, after a long round of worthless or hardening experiences, upon a young, unsophisticated, innocent soul, is apt either to hold aloof, out of a sense of his own remoteness, or to draw near and become fascinated and elated by his discovery.

It is only by a roundabout process that such men ever do draw near such a girl.
They have no method, no understanding of how to ingratiate themselves in youthful favour, save when they find virtue in the toils.