Lady Holland listened to him with unwonted deference, and scolded him with a circumspection that was in itself a compliment.

Rogers spoke of him with friendliness, and to him with positive affection, and gave him the last proof of his esteem and admiration by asking him to name the morning for a breakfast-party.

He was treated with almost fatherly kindness by the able and worthy man who is still remembered by the name of Conversation Sharp.

Indeed, his deference for the feelings of all whom he liked and respected, which an experienced observer could detect beneath the eagerness of his manner and the volubility of his talk, made him a favourite among those of a generation above his own.

He bore his honours quietly, and enjoyed them with the natural and hearty pleasure of a man who has a taste for society, but whose ambitions lie elsewhere.