He (Crompton Llewelyn Davies, 1868-1935) was one of the wittiest men that I have ever known, with a great love of mankind combined with a contemptuous hatred for most individual men. He had by no means the ways of a saint. Once, when we were both young, I was walking with him in the country, and we trespassed over a corner of a farmer's land. The farmer came running out after us, shouting and red with fury. Crompton held his hand to his ear, and said with the utmost mildness:
'Would you mind speaking a little louder? I'm rather hard of hearing.'
The farmer was reduced to speechlessness in the endeavour to make more noise than he was already making.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.1
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