One of the spaniels had given a little yelp as I came in; but disposed himself to sleep again.
Now I am not one of those who think that those who are noble by birth must always be noble by character, though I know that it should be so.

I knew, too, very well that Charles was less than noble in a great number of ways.

His women did what they liked with him; he would spend fortunes on those who pleased him and did him nothing but injury, and would let his faithful lovers and servants go starve.

He lived always, you would say, only for the flesh and the pride of the eyes; he was careless and selfish and ungrateful; in short, he was as dissolute as a man could be, or, rather, as dissolute as a king could be, and that is much more.

Yet for all this, he was a man of an extraordinary power, if he had cared to use it.