Mrs Roper's Boarding-House I have said that John Eames had been petted by none but his mother, but I would not have it supposed, on this account, that John Eames had no friends.

There is a class of young men who never get petted, though they may not be the less esteemed, or perhaps loved.

They do not come forth to the world as Apollos, nor shine at all, keeping what light they may have for inward purposes.

Such young men are often awkward, ungainly, and not yet formed in their gait; they straggle with their limbs, and are shy; words do not come to them with ease, when words are required, among any but their accustomed associates.

Social meetings are periods of penance to them, and any appearance in public will unnerve them.