She doubled the deference which before had charmed him ...

She doubled the deference which before had charmed him, calling out his conversational powers in such a manner as to surprise Pitt himself, who, always inclined to respect his own talents, admired them the more when Rebecca pointed them out to him.

William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

This made me laugh. It is this humor that keeps me reading Vanity Fair.