'I
wonder,' exclaims the eldest Miss Greenwood, laying down her work
to turn up the lamp, 'I wonder whether Mr. Fairfax will ever be
married.' 'Bless me, dear,' cries Miss Marshall, 'what ever made
you think of him?' 'Really I hardly know,' replies Miss Greenwood;
'he is such a very mysterious person, that I often wonder about
him.' 'Well, to tell you the truth,' replies Miss Marshall, 'and
so do I.' Here two other young ladies profess that they are
constantly doing the like, and all present appear in the same
condition except one young lady, who, not scrupling to state that
she considers Mr. Fairfax 'a horror,' draws down all the opposition
of the others, which having been expressed in a great many
ejaculatory passages, such as 'Well, did I ever!'-and 'Lor, Emily,
dear!' ma takes up the subject, and gravely states, that she must
say she does not think Mr. Fairfax by any means a horror, but
rather takes him to be a young man of very great ability; 'and I am
quite sure,' adds the worthy lady, 'he always means a great deal
more than he says.'
The door opens at this point of the disclosure, and who of all
people alive walks into the room, but the very Mr. Fairfax, who has
been the subject of conversation! 'Well, it really is curious,'
cries ma, 'we were at that very moment talking about you.' 'You
did me great honour,' replies Mr. Fairfax; 'may I venture to ask
what you were saying?' 'Why, if you must know,' returns the eldest
girl, 'we were remarking what a very mysterious man you are.
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