"At first sight I had supposed you scarcely more than a mere girl, but now you speak like a woman wearied of the world, utterly condemning all complimentary phrases." "Indeed, no; not if they be sincerely expressed as between man and man." "How is it as between man and woman ?" "Men generally address women as you started to address me, as if there existed no common ground of serious thought between them.

They condescend, they flatter, they indulge in fulsome compliment, they whisper soft nonsense which they would be sincerely ashamed to utter in the presence of their own sex, they act as if they were amusing babies, rather than conversing with intelligent human beings.

Their own notion seems to be to shake the rattle-box, and awaken a laugh.

I am not a baby, nor am I seeking amusement." He glanced curiously at her book.

"And yet you condescend to read love stories," he said, smiling.