"Well, he could leave it off, my dear."
"But he has declared to me that he never would leave it off. How often has he sneered at ordinary clerical attire, though he has never dared to suggest that you should masquerade in, what he calls, proper ecclesiastical costume."
"There may be reasons, my dear; he may have bandy legs."
"His legs are perfectly indifferent to me, Mr. Dodd. If he wishes to marry, he should dress like other people."
"You should suggest that to Lucy Warrender, my dear."
"If I thought for a moment, Mr. Dodd, that there was a possibility of his being the means of rescuing the girl by his own self-sacrifice, I should not say one word; if he has a taste for martyrdom, it would not be for me to interfere; but I know that Lucy is only wickedly encouraging him for the sake of winning the bet of a new bonnet from her cousin's husband. You must warn and admonish him, John, or he must go. Stacey would have been a far more suitable partner for him."
"Why didn't you suggest it, my dear?"
"It is not my duty to secure a husband for my sister-in-law, Mr. Dodd."
"You thought it was, in the squire's case, Cecilia."
But the vicar's wife let the taunt pass by unnoticed.