Charles Dickens

“ Sparsit was a highly superior woman to perceive that he had that general cross upon him in his deserts (for he had not yet settled what it was) , and further that Louisa would have objected to her as a frequent visitor if it had comported with his greatness that she should object to anything he chose to do, resolved not to lose sight of Mrs. Sparsit easily. So when her nerves were strung up to the pitch of again consuming sweetbreads in solitude, he said to her at the dinner-table, on the day before her departure, ‘I tell you what, ma’am ”

“ In the mean time, ma’am, I am of opinion, if you ask me my opinion, that the less she is talked about, the better.’
The same evening, Mrs. Sparsit, in her chamber window, resting from her packing operations, looked towards her great staircase and saw Louisa still descending.
She sat by Mr. Harthouse, in an alcove in the garden, talking very low; he stood leaning over her, as they whispered together, and his face almost touched her hair. ‘If not quite!’ said Mrs. Sparsit, straining her hawk’s eyes to the utmost. Mrs. ”

“ Well; all sorts of humbugs profess morality. From the House of Commons to the House of Correction, there is a general profession of morality, except among our people; it really is that exception which makes our people quite reviving. ”