on cyril pemberton

His was a face that could never have launched anything like a thousand ships, and something – possibly an elephant – appeared to have sat on it and squashed it. No one broad-minded will allow himself to be prejudiced against a fellow man because the latter has a squashed face, but this squashed face had in addition a grim menacing look, such as is so often seen on the faces of actors playing bit parts in gagster films, and – possibly inadvertently – he gave the impression that it would take very little to give him offense. He was carrying in his hand a bunch of roses. [bachelors anonymous]