_He was still in the middle of those twenty years of neglect which
only began to lift in 1868_. The plunge into metaphor at _lift_, which
presupposes a mist, is too sudden after the literal _twenty years of
neglect_; years, even gloomy years, do not lift.
_The means of education at the disposal of the Protestants and
Presbyterians of the North were stunted and sterilized._ 'The means at
disposal' names something too little vegetable or animal to consort
with the metaphorical verbs. Education (personified) may be stunted,
but means may not.
_The measure of Mr. Asquith's shame does not consist in the mere fact
that he has announced his intention to ..._ Metaphorical measuring,
like literal, requires a more accommodating instrument than a stubborn
fact.