The advent of this girl cousin, with her title, her good looks, her money, and her unfair advantages in the way of talking French and Italian, was only moderately pleasant to the eldest Miss Hooper.
"What--you think she'll snuff us out ?" laughed Nora.

"Not she! Oxford's not like London.

People are not such snobs." "What a silly thing to say, Nora! As if it wasn't an enormous pull everywhere to have a handle to your name, and lots of money!" "Well, I really think it'll matter less here than anywhere.

Oxford, my dear--or some of it--pursues 'the good and the beautiful'"-- said Nora, taking a flying leap on to the window-sill again, and beginning to poke up some tadpoles in a jar, which stood on the window-ledge.
Alice did not think it worth while to continue the conversation.

She had little or nothing of Nora's belief in the other-worldliness of Oxford.
At this period, some thirty odd years ago, the invasion of Oxford on the north by whole new tribes of citizens had already begun.