Desperate remedies (Thomas Hardy)

Once upon a time there lived in the 19th century a charming young lady from a poor but proud family and a young ambitious gentleman in spirit, but not in origin. And now the boundaries of estates and welfare were ready to be erased under the pressure of the couple’s feelings and understanding of the girl’s parents that it’s not the age of her daughter to attract men and we need to work with what we have. However, the lady turned out to be capricious, fell into a hysteria and forced the family to rush off to hell, as soon as she heard about a marriage proposal from our hero.