Overall, good stuff. One thought, though:
In the first excerpt, you repeat 'Age had not reduced the sharpness of' - a single repetition reads as overuse. A second establishes that you're using it as a pattern, especially if you work in slight variations for emphasis (ie: 'Age had not...' 'Age did not...' 'Age could not...'). Without establishing that as an intentional pattern you're repeating, it's stronger to make the second one 'Nor had age reduced...' or 'Age had not reduced the sharpness of his words, either' in order to draw the intentional connection, rather than make it read like you just got over-fond of a turn of phrase (which I know I've done many, many times).
But in general? Good stuff, looking forward to more.