His enthusiasm was the finest thing she had found, out of books.

It was like a heroic poem, as she often remarked, this fine philanthropy of his, and he seemed to her like King Arthur preparing his Table Round to regenerate the earth.

This compliment, uttered with the coolness of a literary criticism--and nothing _could_ be cooler than a certain sort of literary criticism--this deliberate and oft-repeated compliment of Miss Minorkey always set Charlton's enthusiastic blood afire with love and admiration for the one Being, as he declared, born to appreciate his great purposes.

And the Being was pleased to be made the partner of such dreams and hopes.

In an intellectual and ideal fashion she did appreciate them.