XV.

"Serene, accomplish'd, cheerful, but not loud, Insinuating without insinuation; Observant of the foibles of the crowd, Yet ne'er betraying this in conversation; Proud with the proud, yet courteously proud, So as to make them feel he knew his station And theirs:--without a struggle for priority He neither brook'd nor claim'd superiority.

"That is with men: with women he was what They pleased to make or take him for."--_Canto_ xv.