CHAPTER XVII 224
insipid sort of fellow ; I like black Bothwell better : to my mind a man is nothing without a spice of the devil in him ; and history may say what it will of James Hepburn , but I have a notion , he was just the sort of wild , fierce , bandit hero whom I could have consented to gift with my hand ."
" Gentlemen , you hear ! Now which of you most resembles Bothwell ?" cried Mr . Rochester .
" I should say the preference lies with you ," responded Colonel Dent . " On my honour , I am much obliged to you ," was the reply .
Miss Ingram , who had now seated herself with proud grace at the piano , spreading out her snowy robes in queenly amplitude , commenced a brilliant prelude ; talking meantime . She appeared to be on her high horse to-night ; both her words and her air seemed intended to excite not only the admiration , but the amazement of her auditors : she was evidently bent on striking them as something very dashing and daring indeed .
" Oh , I am so sick of the young men of the present day !" exclaimed she , rattling away at the instrument . " Poor , puny things , not fit to stir a step beyond papa ' s park gates : nor to go even so far without mama ' s permission and guardianship ! Creatures so absorbed in care about their pretty faces , and their white hands , and their small feet ; as if a man had anything to do with beauty ! As if loveliness were not the special prerogative of woman -- her legitimate appanage and heritage ! I grant an ugly WOMAN is a blot on the fair face of creation ; but as to the GENTLEMEN , let them be solicitous to possess only strength and valour : let their motto be : - Hunt , shoot , and fight : the rest is not worth a fillip . Such should be my device , were I a man ."
" Whenever I marry ," she continued after a pause which none interrupted , " I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival , but a foil to me . I will suffer no competitor near the throne ; I shall exact an undivided homage : his devotions shall not be shared between me and the shape he sees in his mirror . Mr . Rochester , now sing , and I will play for you ."