— Fanny... You are killing me!
— No man dies of love but on the stage.
— Purity is a decided attraction, true. Indeed.
— Especially for the impure.
— Though Maria is most agreeable.
— Though her choice is made.
— Yes... And I like her the better for it. An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged. No harm can be done.
— You allow yourself great latitude on such points, Henry. But you will be the one taken in at last.
— Well...?
— I like them both exceedingly. But I like Julia best.
— Why?
— Because her Aunt Norris advised me that it must be so!