He could make himself interesting by a
tactful and rugged reserve set off by a grim, almost imperceptible, playfulness of tone and manner.
He was that absent-minded crank, a grand seigneur husband who was in no one's way, and far from spoiling the high tone and general impression of the drawing room, he served, by the contrast he presented to her, as an advantageous background to his elegant and
tactful wife.
And Johnny, like a true host, made the
tactful remarks that enabled us to find mutual topics of conversation.
"You must have it," said Miss Bartlett, part of whose travelling expenses were paid by Lucy's mother--a piece of generosity to which she made many a
tactful allusion.
I shall never forget the
tactful patience with which he persuaded him to take nourishment.
"Look here, Dorcas, go along back, and be
tactful. Be persuasive; don't fret her; tell her it's all right, the matter is in my hands, but it isn't good form to hurry so grave a matter as this.
Once or twice he spoke sharply to Mildred, and since she was neither
tactful nor patient she answered with temper, and they quarrelled.
Lady Ruth went back to her guests, and with the effortless ease of long training, she became once more the gracious and
tactful hostess.
Much of all this was due to Miss Stacy's
tactful, careful, broadminded guidance.
"You needn't 'a' bothered to bring flowers," remarked that gracious and
tactful lady; "the garden's always full of 'em here when it comes time."
He was ever a graceful man, diplomatic,
tactful, and considerate.
He was starving for sympathy, which, with him, meant intelligent understanding; and he had yet to learn that Ruth's sympathy was largely sentimental and
tactful, and that it proceeded from gentleness of nature rather than from understanding of the objects of her sympathy.