"My dear," said the cotton-tassel in defence of his conduct, "Jos is a great deal vainer than you ever were in your life, and that's saying a good deal. Though, some thirty years ago, in the year seventeen hundred and eighty--what was it?--perhaps you had a right to be vain--I don't say no. 
"My dear," said he, "Jos is a great deal vainer than you ever were; though thirty years ago you had a right to be vain. 