I felt them willing to recognise this as something of a drawback, at the same time that I guessed at an underlying sense--their consolation in adversity--that they HAD their points.

They certainly had; but these advantages struck me as preponderantly social; such for instance as would help to make a drawing-room look well.

However, a drawing-room was always, or ought to be, a picture.
In consequence of his wife's allusion to their age Major Monarch observed: "Naturally it's more for the figure that we thought of going in.

We can still hold ourselves up." On the instant I saw that the figure was indeed their strong point.

His "naturally" didn't sound vain, but it lighted up the question.