His ready penetration discovered this change in his favour: he at once took advantage of it.

"Five minutes of your time is all I ask for," he said.
"Won't you indulge a man who sees his fellow-creatures all talking happily round him, and feels dead and buried among them ?" The very exaggeration of his language had its effect on my mind.

It revealed to me the horrible isolation among humanity of the deaf, as I had never understood it yet.

Discretion is, I am sorry to say, not one of the strong points in my character.

I committed one more among the many foolish actions of my life; I signed to the stranger to lead the way back to the mill..