From what
adverse spot in the world these cruel tidings fell upon Barchester I
have never been able to discover. We know how quickly rumour flies,
making herself common through all the cities. That Mrs. Proudie
should have known more of the facts connected with the Hartletop
family than any one else in Barchester was not surprising, seeing
that she was so much more conversant with the great world in which
such people lived. She knew, and was therefore correct enough in
declaring, that Lord Dumbello had already jilted one other young
lady--the Lady Julia Mac Mull, to whom he had been engaged three
seasons back, and that therefore his character in such matters was
not to be trusted. That Lady Julia had been a terrible flirt and
greatly given to waltzing with a certain German count, with whom
she had since gone off--that, I suppose, Mrs. Proudie did not know,
much as she was conversant with the great world,--seeing that she
said nothing about it to any of her ecclesiastical listeners on the
present occasion.
"It will be a terrible warning, Mrs. Quiverful, to us all; a most
useful warning to us--not to trust to the things of this world. I
fear they made no inquiry about this young nobleman before they
agreed that his name should be linked with that of their daughter.
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