It could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choice--a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure to himself.
Il lui arrivait souvent de rester dix minutes sans ouvrir la bouche, et, quand il parlait, il semblait que ce fut par nécessité plutôt que par plaisir. Rarement lui voyait-on de l’animation.