If any man had told me when I first went to John Jarndyce's house that he was anything but the disinterested friend he seemed--that he was what he has gradually turned out to be--I could have found no words strong enough to repel the slander; I could not have defended him too ardently. 
If any man had told me when I first went to John Jarndyce's house that he was anything but a disinterested friend - I could have found no words strong enough to repel the slander. 