King at the Century 



but its stages doubtless seemed to 

 him of almost geologic length and 

 ancientness. Those he reached were 

 satisfactorily airy. Such as his de- 

 cision, after long reflection, that " a 

 painter should always paint in his 

 third manner." The deeper ones he 

 never, in general talk at least, touched 

 upon. His tact was unfailing here. 

 His religion, for example, he said, 

 was like his teeth, both were in- 

 herited and both, so far as he knew, 

 were sound. Nor was he one of 

 those talkers who will listen with 

 pleasure, but if you are silent talk 

 themselves unremittingly — the neces- 

 sity of talk by some one being their 

 subconscious major premise. He 

 made you talk. If you had no sub- 

 ject he supplied one and made you 

 interested in it. On the other hand, 

 he would not only quite as readily 

 talk about your subject, but contrive 

 to give you the notion that he was 



