As hitherto Mr. Martindale did not know whether Mr. Henderson were married or single, he one day asked him the question; and when that question was answered in the affirmative, and mention was made of the number of the reverend gentleman's family, the old gentleman then proceeded to make further inquiries, such as are allowable from a man of great wealth who has livings in his gift. The answer to these inquiries astonished Mr. Martindale. But Mr. Henderson was not at all astonished at Mr. Martindale's astonishment; for he had been asked the same questions by many of his opulent hearers, and had given them the same answers, and heard the same or similar expressions of astonishment. Hitherto, however, no fruit had resulted from these flattering and promising inquiries: therefore he did not build any hopes on the language used by Martindale, which was to his ear but an echo of what he had heard very, very many times for a dozen years at least. The impression, however, on Mr. Martindale's mind from Mr. Henderson's answers to his inquiries, was stronger than the impression on Mr. Henderson's mind from Mr. Martindale's expressions and exclamations of astonishment at the ill success which the eloquent divine had experienced in his profession. It was one of Mr. Martindale's fancies that he was a great patron of merit, and as he wished to have an opportunity of indulging this propensity, he was very willing to see in Mr. Henderson quite as much merit as the reverend gentleman himself could ever think of laying claim to. As Mr. Martindale also very highly enjoyed declaiming against the world and its blindness and insensibility to all that was really deserving, he was very well pleased that he could quote Mr. Henderson as an instance of neglected merit. Notwithstanding his own general distaste of popular and splendid preaching, he could not but admire Mr. Henderson, who, he said, was far superior to the common run of popular men. There is in Mr. Henderson, he used to say, a strong foundation of good sense and knowledge of the world: he is far above the silly vanity of aiming merely at popular applause; and he never uses figurative or splendid language except where it is appropriate; and all his metaphors, and similes, and illustrations, are in such pure and perfect good taste.