Page "Ruddigore" Paragraph 40

After the horrified bridesmaids exit, Dame Hannah greets her niece, Rose, and inquires whether there is any young man in the village whom she could love.

Rose, who takes her ideas of Right and Wrong from a book of etiquette, replies that all of the young men she meets are either too rude or too shy.

Dame Hannah asks particularly about Robin Oakapple, a virtuous farmer, but Rose replies that he is too diffident to approach her, and the rules of etiquette forbid her from speaking until she is spoken to.

Robin enters, claiming to seek advice from Rose about " a friend " who is in love.

Rose says that she has such a friend too, but Robin is too shy to take the hint.

Rose's devotion to etiquette prevents her from taking the first step, and so they part.