"Well, it stands alone, doesn't it?"
"Yes. And he stands with it."
"Does he? My grandfather was judging him by his average."
"His average? Oh, I say, you know, you could reduce some very great poets to mediocrity by striking their average. Wouldn't you allow a man to be at least as great as his greatest achievement?"
"I wonder—"
"Anyhow, those are ripping good notes in that edition."
"They ought to be. They were by a good scholar—his greatest achievement."
He put down the Harden Euripides; and it struck Lucia that if Sir Joseph had been there this truthful young man would not have hesitated to put him down too. She laid her hand on the book with an air of possession and protection, which was a lesson in tact for the truthful young man. He leaned up against the bookcase with his hands in his pockets.
"I say," said he, "I hope you don't mind my talking like this to you?"
"No. Why shouldn't you?"