But
what I mean is that I must act from a general principle, and that
principle is that when a man is engaged, it doesn't matter whether the
girl has thrown herself at him, or not--"

_Miss Garnett_: "She certainly did, from what Conny says."

_Miss Ramsey_: "He must be shown that other girls won't tolerate his
behaving as if he were _not_ engaged. It is wrong."

_Miss Garnett_: "We must stand together."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Yes. Though I don't infer that he has been attentive
to other girls generally."

_Miss Garnett_: "No. I meant that if he has been coming here so much,
you want to prevent his trifling with others."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Something like that. But it ought to be more definite.
He ought to realize that if another girl cared for him, it would be
cruel to her, paying her attentions, when he was engaged to some one
else."

_Miss Garnett_: "And cruel to the girl he is engaged to."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Yes." She speaks coldly, vaguely. "But that is the
personal ground, and I wish to avoid that. I wish to deal with him
purely in the abstract."

_Miss Garnett_: "Yes, I understand that. And at the same time you wish
to punish him. He ought to be made to feel it all the more because he
is so severe himself."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Severe?"

_Miss Garnett_: "Not tolerating anything that's the least out of the
way in other people. Taking you up about your ideas and showing where
you're wrong, or even silly. Spiritually snubbing, Conny calls it."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Oh, I like that in him. It's so invigorating. It
braces up all your good resolutions. It makes you ashamed; and shame
is sanative."

_Miss Garnett_: "That's just what I told Conny, or the same thing. Do
you think another one would hurt me? I will risk it, anyway." She
takes another chocolate from the box. "Go on."

_Miss Ramsey_: "Oh, I was just wishing that I had been out longer, and
had a little more experience of men. Then I should know how to act.
How do you suppose people do, generally?"

_Miss Garnett_: "Why, you know, if they find a man in love with them,
after he's engaged to another girl, they make him go back to her, it
doesn't matter whether they're in love with him themselves or not."

_Miss Ramsey_: "I'm _not_ in love with Mr. Ashley, please."

_Miss Garnett_: "No; I'm supposing an extreme case."

_Miss Ramsey_, after a moment of silent thought: "Did you ever hear of
anybody doing it?"

_Miss Garnett_: "Not just in our set. But I know i