"Yes, I protest against young ladies throwing themselves at the head of every marriageable gentleman they see. They should think of the effect it will have."
"But they are so unworldly that they don't think of effect," said Mrs. Fluffy.
"Humph!" ejaculated the widow in a tone of incredulity.
"You seem to have a very poor opinion of women, Jane."
"They want to marry, all of them: you admit that, don't you?" asked Mrs. Stunner severely.
"I think not," objected Mrs. F. in a feeble voice. "There is Miss Furnaval: they say she has refused—"
"Then," interrupted her sister, not heeding her, "if they want to marry, why not take the proper means? It is inconceivable to me how women, after thinking about it all their lives, blunder into it in the end, just as if it was an entirely unforeseen event. A little good sense is requisite in everything, I think."
"They are not all anxious to marry," reiterated Mrs. Fluffy, gaining courage: "there's Miss Furnaval—"
"A great example to give one!" remarked her sister contemptuously. "She is making a fool of herself as fast as she can. Among all the young ladies who marry badly, the fascinating ones prosper the worst. No girl can refuse a good offer with impunity: a day of reckoning will come. Society has its laws, which must be obeyed: if not, gare! Mark my words," continued Mrs. Stunner solemnly: "Miss Furnaval has some outlandish un-society principles, and practically they will not work. Why, she is quite as well contented talking to a poor man as to a rich one, and she is always encouraging worthless, amusing, handsome fellows—talented men, instead of men whose position dispenses with the necessity of their having brains. Those fellows she has about her are the pests of society. If you hear of a runaway match, you may be sure it is with one of them; if a daughter is obstinate, you may be sure some ineligible jackanapes has prompted her to it. Blanche will end badly. She will fall in love with one of them some day, and finish by marrying him."
"If Miss Furnaval loves one of that kind of gentlemen, I don't see why she might not be happy with him."