“ There is nothing an old bachelor likes better than to find a young married man who wishes he had not got married—especially when the case is such an extreme one that he need not pretend to hope that matters will come all right again, or encourage his young friend to make the best of it. ”
Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh (1903). copy citation
| Author | Samuel Butler |
|---|---|
| Source | The Way of All Flesh |
| Topic | hope pretending |
| Date | 1903 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2084/2084-h/2084-h.htm |
Context
“Ernest had felt all this and had seldom come near me till now, one evening late in 1860, he called on me, and with a very woebegone face told me his troubles.
As soon as I found that he no longer liked his wife I forgave him at once, and was as much interested in him as ever. There is nothing an old bachelor likes better than to find a young married man who wishes he had not got married—especially when the case is such an extreme one that he need not pretend to hope that matters will come all right again, or encourage his young friend to make the best of it.
I was myself in favour of a separation, and said I would make Ellen an allowance myself—of course intending that it should come out of Ernest’s money; but he would not hear of this. He had married Ellen, he said, and he must try to reform her.”
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