half-sententiously

Updated: August 9, 2026

Prest, half-sententiously and yet also somewhat as if she were ashamed of making a speech so little in the real tone of Venice. As if a woman needed an excuse for having loved the divine poet! The niece, according to Mrs. Prest, was not so old, and she risked the conjecture that she was only a grandniece.

Henry James - The Aspern Papers