He believed in himself, and was quite right to do so, for
everybody else believed in him too. He spoke with authority, for
there was no one about him who did not hang upon his lips with
respect, and mostly with admiration. He made assertions and gave his
opinion with the assurance of superior knowledge, but he had a right
to do so, for it always referred only to matters about which he
knew, or was fully persuaded that he knew, more than most people.
Even his wealth did not go to his head, but acted on him like a
moderate amount of drink upon a man who can stand a great deal. He
enjoyed to the full the comforts and amenities of life which his
large income enabled him to procure, but he did it for his own
pleasure, not for the sake of what others would think; for his own
comfort, and not for show. He liked to keep good horses and dogs, an
admirably appointed table and cellar, and a large staff of well-
drilled servants. On the other hand, he avoided anything approaching
to display, was never seen at races, went to no fashionable baths,
gave no grand entertainments, nor had a box at either theatre or
operahouse, belonged to no club, and never played high. His wife
wore perhaps rather more jewelry and followed the newest Paris
fashions a trifle more closely than was absolutely necessary at
Friesenmoor or even the Uhlenhorst, but as she remained as simple
and unaffected as before, nobody could think any the worse of her
for this small inherited weakness.
Pages:
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344