 consistency with those
results. Public opinion, in these cases, is always of the feminine gender - not
the world, but the world's wife: and she would have seen, that two handsome
young people - the gentleman of quite the first family in St Ogg's - having
found themselves in a false position, had been led into a course which, to say
the least of it, was highly injudicious, and productive of sad pain and
disappointment, especially to that sweet young thing, Miss Deane. Mr. Stephen
Guest had certainly not behaved well; but then, young men were liable to those
sudden infatuated attachments; and bad as it might seem in Mrs. Stephen Guest to
admit the faintest advances from her cousin's lover (indeed it had been said
that she was actually engaged to young Wakem - old Wakem himself had mentioned
it), still she was very young - »and a deformed young man, you know! - and young
Guest so very fascinating; and, they say, he positively worships her (to be
sure, that can't last!) and he ran away with her in the boat quite against her
will - and what could she do? She couldn't come back then: no one would have
spoken to her; and how very well that maize-coloured satinette becomes her
complexion! It seems as if the folds in front were quite come in; several of her
dresses are made so; - they say he thinks nothing too handsome to buy for her.
Poor Miss Deane! She is very pitiable; but then, there was no positive
engagement; and the air at the coast will do her good. After all, if young Guest
felt no more for her than that, it was better for her not to marry him. What a
wonderful marriage for a girl like Miss Tulliver - quite romantic! Why, young
Guest will put up for the borough at the next election. Nothing like commerce
nowadays! That young Wakem nearly went out of his mind - he always was rather
queer; but he's gone abroad again to be out of the way - quite the best thing
for a deformed young man. Miss Unit declares she will never visit Mr. and Mrs.
Stephen Guest - such nonsense! pretending to be better than other people.
Society couldn't be carried on if we inquired into private conduct in that way -
and Christianity tells us to think no evil - and my belief is, that Miss Unit
had no cards sent her.«
    But the results, we know, were not of
