But my endeavours on this
head were by no means uniformly successful, even when my plans were
the most wittily concocted; for my namesake had much about him, in
character, of that unassuming and quiet austerity which, while
enjoying the poignancy of its own jokes, has no heel of Achilles in
itself, and absolutely refuses to be laughed at. I could find, indeed,
but one vulnerable point, and that, lying in a personal peculiarity,
arising, perhaps, from constitutional disease, would have been
spared by any antagonist less at his wit's end than myself; --my rival
had a weakness in the faucal or guttural organs, which precluded him
from raising his voice at any time above a very low whisper. Of this
defect I did not fall to take what poor advantage lay in my power.
Wilson's retaliations in kind were many; and there was one form of
his practical wit that disturbed me beyond measure. How his sagacity
first discovered at all that so petty a thing would vex me, is a
question I never could solve; but, having discovered, he habitually
practised the annoyance.
Pages:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26