He discussed the circumstances connected with the statue as dry matter-of-fact, and unless it was his duty to be hilarious at the dinner-table, he was hardly able to respond to a call on his past life and mine.

His future, too, was present tense: 'We do this,' not 'we will do this'; so that, generally, no sooner did we speak of an anticipated scene than he was acting in it.

I studied him eagerly, I know, and yet quite unconsciously, and I came to no conclusions.

Boys are always putting down the ciphers of their observations of people beloved by them, but do not add up a sum total.
Our journey home occupied nearly eleven weeks, owing to stress of money on two occasions.

In Brussels I beheld him with a little beggar-girl in his arms.
'She has asked me for a copper coin, Richie,' he said, squeezing her fat cheeks to make cherries of her lips.
I recommended him to give her a silver one.
'Something, Richie, I must give the little wench, for I have kissed her, and, in my list of equivalents, gold would be the sole form of repayment after that.