 a kind to warrant this extenuation of
the past. Maggie had returned without a trousseau, without a husband - in that
degraded and outcast condition to which error is well known to lead; and the
world's wife, with that fine instinct which is given her for the preservation of
Society, saw at once that Miss Tulliver's conduct had been of the most
aggravated kind. Could anything be more detestable? A girl so much indebted to
her friends - whose mother as well as herself had received so much kindness from
the Deanes - to lay the design of winning a young man's affections away from her
own cousin, who had behaved like a sister to her! Winning his affections? That
was not the phrase for such a girl as Miss Tulliver: it would have been more
correct to say that she had been actuated by mere unwomanly boldness and
unbridled passion. There was always something questionable about her. That
connection with young Wakem, which, they said, had been carried on for years,
looked very ill - disgusting, in fact! But with a girl of that disposition! - To
the world's wife there had always been something in Miss Tulliver's very
physique that a refined instinct felt to be prophetic of harm. As for poor Mr.
Stephen Guest, he was rather pitiable than otherwise: a young man of
five-and-twenty is not to be too severely judged in these cases - he is really
very much at the mercy of a designing bold girl. And it was clear that he had
given way in spite of himself: he had shaken her off as soon as he could;
indeed, their having parted so soon looked very black indeed - for her. To be
sure, he had written a letter, laying all the blame on himself, and telling the
story in a romantic fashion so as to try and make her appear quite innocent: of
course he would do that! But the refined instinct of the world's wife was not to
be deceived: providentially! - else what would become of Society? Why, her own
brother had turned her from his door: he had seen enough, you might be sure,
before he would do that. A truly respectable young man - Mr. Tom Tulliver: quite
likely to rise in the world! His sister's disgrace was naturally a heavy blow to
him. It was to be hoped that she would go out of the neighbourhood - to America,
or anywhere - so as to purify the air of St Ogg's from the taint of her
presence, extremely dangerous
