"Mrs Inglethwaite, I am sorry. I have been most inconsiderate and rude.
I have wearied you all. The truth is," he continued quite simply, "it is
so long since I sat at meat with friends, that I have lost the art of
conversation. I just run on, like--like a leading article. I have not
conversed with a woman, except once or twice across a counter, for
nearly three years."