Sublime

Among the young men their friends and neighbours, the belle jeunesse of the Colony, there were many excellent fellows, several devoted swains, and some two or three who enjoyed the reputation of universal charmers and conquerors. But the home-bred arts and the somewhat boisterous gallantry of those honest young colonists were completely eclipsed by

a gentleman with beautiful black hair and whiskers,

“Gabriel—” the duchess began, but fell silent as he slid her a glance of bright mischief. The duke regarded his son dubiously. “If you’re trying to be charming,” he said, “I should tell you that it’s not going well.”

“My conductor’s the best person in the whole Society,” she began. “Really?” His eyebrows shot up. “The BEST?” “Yes. Much better than you.”

A pale man with pince-nez, he had the kind of face it is impossible to recall within five minutes of seeing it, and owed his appointment to the fact that all the other candidates for the Vice Chancellorship had enough personality to acquire enemies.

What a strange, unaccountable character!—for with all these symptoms of profligacy at ten years old, she had neither a bad heart nor a bad temper; was seldom stubborn, scarcely ever quarrelsome, and very kind to the little ones, with few interruptions of tyranny; she was moreover noisy and wild, hated confinement and cleanliness, and loved nothing

Henry Tilney stands out among Austen heroes in several respects. He alone is present throughout the story in the capacity of a romantic interest for the heroine. He alone serves throughout as a powerful and accepted guide for the heroine. Finally, he alone exhibits strongly the qualities of wit and humor that are always such a prominent feature of

“Mr. Hunt, you sound like the villain in a very bad play.” That elicited another grin, and he bowed with sardonic politeness before striding away.