The essay on Heroism which he first read happened to be written by Mary Bateman.  It was practical, written in good English, the spelling all correct, and also contained some fairly well-chosen allusions to great heroes of history.  The essay was thoughtful, and, although there was little originality in it, the guests listened with marked attention. The reading of the essay occupied exactly ten minutes, for Sir John read it slowly, pausing often to give full weight to the words which he read.  He had a beautiful, mellow, perfectly-trained voice, and Mary's somewhat lame utterances could not have sounded to better advantage.