Nay, he was in danger of becoming a proselyte to Sir Steady's
opinion, when he recalled and compared every circumstance which he
knew of Pickle's impatience and impetuosity. Indeed, nothing more
easily gains credit than an imputation of madness fixed upon any
person whatsoever: for when the suspicion of the world is roused,
and its observation once set at work, the wisest, the coolest man
upon earth, will, by some particulars in his behaviour, convict
himself of the charge: every singularity in his dress and manner (and
such are observable in every person), that before passed unheeded,
now rises up in judgment against him, with all the exaggeration
of the observer's fancy; and the sagacious examiner perceives
distraction in every glance of the eye, turn of the finger, and
motion of the head. When he speaks, there is a strange peculiarity
in his argument and expression; when he holds his tongue, his
imagination teems with some extravagant reverie; his sobriety of
demeanour is no other than a lucid interval, and his passion mere
delirium.
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