Tall, Dark, Handsome

From an ancient newspaper, I found this:

Mr. Oldham is a tall, thin, dark gentleman, with a directness and simplicity about him that assure you of his sincerity. There is an entire absence of cant or any stock phrases as he prays, and his voice is not pitched to an artificial tone. His language in his sermons is simple in the extreme, indeed you feel he is talking to you not preaching, and the result is you are decoyed into listening before you know where you are… In simple, earnest, touching language, Mr. Oldham speaks to the little ones, avoiding exaggeration, that refuge of weak souls.

Would that all educators of wyverns would teach likewise.