John Oliver Hobbes

“ What is Art? Madness in most cases, and mere frippery in others. And only one man here and there makes it pay. Look at Nature, I say, if you want beautiful pictures. But I was telling you about this fellow. It seems he was christened Sidney Wiche; his mother said that his name was at least Christian if it was not legal! I am thankful to say I never met her. I do not pretend to be a saint, but a woman without a conscience strikes me dumb! I feel that there is nothing more to say!"
"Conscience is the name which the orthodox give to their prejudices," said Van Huyster. ”

“ Wiche, Captain Rookes, and this new American, Mr. Van Huyster," said the housekeeper.
"And who are the women?" continued Luffy.
"Miss Warcop for one," said Mrs. Danby. "Between ourselves her ladyship is on the matchmaking hop again. But there—when did she ever pull anything off what you may call satisfactory? She's too hopeful. And say what you like, Luffy, it doesn't do to be hopeful in this world. Expect nothing, I say! "The widow shook her head, and heaved her breast, and hurled a poignant glance at Spalding, who had been shuddering on the brink of matrimony for twelve and a half years. ”

“ Sir Ventry dropped his lower jaw, but recovered it on remembering that the millionaire wrote poetry, very bad poetry, too. "Felicia is certainly good-looking," he said; "perhaps you are aware that her mother, the former Lady Twacorbie, was an American. She made Twacorbie an excellent wife, however, greatly improved the estate and was very much liked by the Royalties. She died young."
"Good wives so often do" murmured Van Huyster, "perhaps that is one of their brightest virtues." ”

“ Rookes was, as a matter of fact, a mortal whose good intentions and generous admiration for the admirable were not steady enough to carry the load of a fashionable education, nor robust enough to endure the nipping cruelty of society small talk. ”

“ I am sure you would not care for any one who was not noble and generous—you would not be his friend if he did not have fine qualities!" Conversation between a disillusioned devotee and an enthusiastic novice is always difficult: the disillusioned fears to be candid, and the enthusiast fears nothing; one has not learnt enough, the other has all to learn. This, then, was the situation of Lady Mallinger and Felicia. To one, Saville seemed a traitor ”

“ On this occasion he wondered whether Van Huyster was aware that he, too, Sir Ventry Coxe, had in his day buried some sixty-three inches of weary perfection. He decided to ignore the remark.
"One can see," he said, "that Felicia is extremely un-English: her manners are a little crude. But I like a woman who can talk: a man wants to be amused, he does not want to wear his brains out amusing a wife!"
At this point Lord Twacorbie rose up from the table.
The pantry was immediately behind the dining-room—and here, at the close of the dinner, Spalding, the butler, the head-gardener, Luffy, and Mrs. ”

“ There is a distinction between greatness and being great in the eyes of a certain class." The speaker, Sir Ventry Coxe, had the so-called aristocratic air sometimes found in men of middle-class extraction, but unknown amongst the old nobility. ”

“ Notes ↑ Likely referring to optimism: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rosy#English↑ Since blushing can be associated with modesty or shame, this could suggest that blushing reflects the presence of a moral code, hence, the connection to Christianity. ”