Persons of minute significance in Parliament were not unknown to him, and he was ready with a theory or an explanation on the most recondite matters.

But coffee and cigars found him a different man.

He ceased to be the enthusiast, the omnivorous and versatile inquirer, and relapsed into the ordinary good fellow, who is no cleverer than his neighbours.
"We're confoundedly obliged to you," said George.

"Haystoun is keen enough, but when he was out last time he seems to have been very slack about the sport." "Sort of student of frontier peoples and politics, as the newspapers call it.

I fancy that game is, what you say, 'played out' a little nowadays.