In fact, erudition is a pale name for it.

New Zealand was the only subject; and it was just beautiful to hear us ripple it out.

And with such an air of unembarrassed ease, and unostentatious familiarity with detail, and trained and seasoned mastery of the subject-and oh, the grace and fluency of it! "Well, finally somebody happened to notice that the guest was looking dazed, and wasn't saying anything.

So they stirred him up, of course.
Then that man came out with a good, honest, eloquent compliment that made the Faculty blush.

He said he was not worthy to sit in the company of men like these; that he had been silent from admiration; that he had been silent from another cause also--silent from shame--silent from ignorance! 'For,' said he, 'I, who have lived eighteen years in New Zealand and have served five in a professorship, and ought to know much about that country, perceive, now, that I know almost nothing about it.