Monk to that of any man living.
He again appealed to his friend. "You heard what was said?"
"I heard Mr. Bonteen remark that you or somebody like you would in
certain circumstances be after a certain lady. I thought it to be
an ill-judged speech, and as your particular friend I heard it with
great regret."
"What a row about nothing!" said Mr. Bonteen, rising from his seat.
"We were speaking of a very pretty woman, and I was saying that some
young fellow generally supposed to be fond of pretty women would soon
be after her. If that offends your morals you must have become very
strict of late."
There was something in the explanation which, though very bad and
vulgar, it was almost impossible not to accept. Such at least was the
feeling of those who stood around Phineas Finn. He himself knew that
Mr. Bonteen had intended to assert that he would be after the woman's
money and not her beauty; but he had taste enough to perceive that he
could not descend to any such detail as that. "There are reasons, Mr.
Bonteen," he said, "why I think you should abstain from mentioning
my name in public.
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