In the passage, the Henry James’ diction reflects the humble and admiring tone that shows affirmation at the funeral and towards Mr. George Odger. When describing Mr. Odger, James describes him as a “humble” man who happen to “distinguished himself” by a “perverse desire to get into Parliament.” Through the use of these words James shows the overall humbleness of Mr. Odger. Mr. Odger did so much yet he never showed off, earning the respect of others. At his funeral, James describes it by showing all the people that had shown up to pay their respects. “The crowd was enormous,” following the hearse became a “cortege of Pedestrians stretched away in the sunshine.” “It was the London rabble, the metropolitan mob, men and women, boys and girls.”