When Confidence Meets Reality — A Tale of Two Cities

Mr. Stryver has decided to bestow marriage on Lucie Manette before he leaves for the Long Vacation, and in his mind the case is already won on worldly grounds. He has rehearsed the verdict like a barrister: eligible, prosperous, advancing. He stops at Tellson's to tell Mr. Lorry, who carried Lucie in his arms as a child and will hear no disrespect toward her spoken at that desk.

Lorry will not bless a proposal he does not think will succeed. Stryver demands to know why he is not eligible, prosperous, and advancing; Lorry agrees to every label and still advises him not to go to Soho yet. When Stryver presses for a reason, Lorry says he would not pursue such an object without cause to believe he would succeed, and the young lady goes before all. Stryver accepts a delay of a few hours while Lorry sounds out the household in the evening.

When Lorry returns with confirmation, Stryver has already rebuilt the story. He pretends the subject barely crossed his mind, declares he never meant to commit himself, calls Lucie's taste mincing nonsense, and shows Lorry out with forbearance as if he had done everyone a favour. Lorry stands in the night while Stryver lies on his sofa, winking at the ceiling.