There were hours in which she was more hopeful, and defied the wiseacres.

It is also true that there was a half-tame fox once upon a time chained up at Tangley Hall in the inner yard, and I have heard many speculative wiseacres in the public-houses turn that to great accountthough they could not but admit that "there was never one there in Miss Silvia's time."

And they maintain, the wiseacres who have analyzed love, that there is much to be said in favour of a calm affection.

This is one of those false dilemmas which supply the wiseacres of the world with a plausible case for distrusting the logical faculty.