The young of her own sex secretly rejoiced at her unamiability, regarding it as a providential set-off against her beauty, while they detested and denounced her as awell, they would say viper in the manger, who spoiled everybody else's lovers and would have none of her own.

And even if she did, in the noble spirit of altruism, rather than selfishness, the next woman, with one reproachful glance at her, would pick up the mutilated remains of the man's vanity and apply the splints of her respectful attention and the balm of her admiration, partly to add a new scalp to her belt, and partly to show off the unamiability of her sister woman.

Besides, as a brother-in-law, he would be insupportable except at the long range of mutual unamiability.

And the Disagreeable Man remained the Disagreeable Man, with a clean record for unamiability.