“If it would be good to her, I am sure it would be evil to himself; a very shameful and degrading connection. How would he bear to have Miss Bates belonging to him?⁠—To have her haunting the Abbey, and thanking him all day long for his great kindness in marrying Jane?⁠—‘So very kind and obliging!⁠—But he always had been such a very kind neighbour!’ And then fly off, through half a sentence, to her mother’s old petticoat. ‘Not that it was such a very old petticoat either⁠—for still it would last a great while⁠—and, indeed, she must thankfully say that their petticoats were all very strong.’ ”