I don't take life quite so seriously as you do.

People are people, after all; it's good fun to see how they live and hear how they talk.' Amy felt that she was playing a sorry part.

She thought of sour grapes, and of the fox who had lost his tail.

Worst of all, perhaps Edith suspected the truth.

She began to make inquiries about common acquaintances, and fell into an easier current of gossip.
A quarter of an hour after the visitor's departure Reardon came back.
Amy had guessed aright; the necessity of selling his books weighed upon him so that for the present he could do nothing.