The Burnt Million - 1890 Author:James Payn Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE MEMORANDUM. Among the many things that puzzled people who had the privilege of knowing the Tremenhere family —and some people who hadn't, ... more »for Josh and his affairs were much talked about—was why the two marriageable Miss Tremenheres did not take advantage of their position. Miss Agnes has been introduced to the reader, and if her personal attractions were not great, that, of course, was but of little consequence in such a matter. It is only a few men in these days who marry for a pretty face, and their intelligence is not thought very highly of. Her sister Philippa had narrowly missed being pretty. She was not so tall as Agnes, and, indeed, rather dumpy as to figure; but her bones were better covered. I am speaking of her as she was spoken of among themselves-—by her father's male acquaintance, who were much more free of speech in discussing the family than when speaking of ladies of their own class. Her black eyes were "beady," and had not much expression. She was almost good-looking enough, they said, "for a cigar shop." Of this last matter they were doubtless good judges, but they were not students of character, andthere were points in that of Miss Philippa which had escaped all but one of them. To say that three gentlemen out of four, who enjoyed—or at all events possessed—Mr. Tremenhere's acquaintance, would have "jumped" at the idea of marrying one of his daughters would be to give a very feeble (as well as vulgar) expression to their sentiments; but they knew that the grapes hung too high for them. Moreover, Josh stood in the way of these objects of their ambition like a cheval de frise. It is comparatively easy to run off with an heiress; even if she is a ward of Chancery, you at least get the interest of her money—when you come out of prison; but ...« less