In a few minutes, Fanny silently retired.  Her father, by no means forward to speak of himself and his pursuits, was led in that direction by Peak’s expressions of interest, and the two were soon busied with matters which had a charm for both.  A collection of elvans formed the starting-point, and when they had entered upon the wide field of palaeontology it was natural for Mr. Warricombe to invite his guest’s attention to the species of homalonotus which he had had the happiness of identifying some ten years ago—­a discovery now recognised and chronicled.  Though his sympathy was genuine enough, Godwin struggled against an uneasy sense of manifesting excessive appreciation.  Never oblivious of himself, he could not utter the simplest phrase of admiration without criticising its justice, its tone.  And at present it behoved him to bear in mind that he was conversing with no half-bred sciolist.  Mr Warricombe obviously had his share of human weakness, but he was at once a gentleman and a student of well-stored mind; insincerity must be very careful if it would not jar upon his refined ear.  So Godwin often checked himself in the utterance of what might sound too much like flattery.  A young man talking with one much older, a poor man in dialogue with a wealthy, must under any circumstances guard his speech; for one of Godwin’s aggressive idiosyncrasy the task of discretion had peculiar difficulties, and the attitude he had assumed at luncheon still further complicated the operations of his mind.  Only at moments could he speak in his true voice, and silence meant for the most part a studious repression of much he would naturally have uttered.

Resurgent envy gave him no little trouble.  On entering the room, he could not but exclaim to himself, ’How easy for a man to do notable work amid such surroundings!  If I were but thus equipped for investigation!’ And as often as his eyes left a particular object to make a general survey, the same thought burned in him.  He feared lest it should be legible on his countenance.

Taking a pamphlet from the table, Mr. Warricombe, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes, inquired whether Peak read German; the answer being affirmative: 

‘Naturally,’ he rejoined, ’you could hardly have neglected so important a language.  I, unfortunately, didn’t learn it in my youth, and I have never had perseverance enough to struggle with it since.  Something led me to take down this brochure the other day—­an old attempt of mine to write about the weathering of rocks.  It was printed in ’76, and no sooner had it seen the light than friends of mine wanted to know what I meant by appropriating, without acknowledgement, certain facts quite recently pointed out by Professor Pfaff of Erlangen!  Unhappily, Professor Pfaff’s results were quite unknown to me, and I had to get them translated.  The coincidences, sure enough, were very noticeable.  Just before you came in, I was reviving that old discomfiture.’