“… in the summer before I was going up, your cousin Alfred rode over to Boughton especially to give me a piece of advice. And do you know what that advice was? ‘Ned’ he said, ‘there's one thing I must beg of you. Always wear a tall hat on Sundays during term. It is by that, more than anything, that a man is judged.’ And do you know” continued my father, snuffling deeply, “I always did? Some men did, some didn't. I never saw any difference between them or heard it commented on, but I always wore mine. It only shows what effect judicious advice can have, properly delivered at the right moment.”