There is a mania in every class to be mistaken for what it is not. Many things innocent, nay, even graceful in themselves, become injurious and awkward by unseasonable imitation.

Amy and Mary looked very pretty in their dresses.

My imagination leaped ahead and saw a beanless, cucumberless, squashless pantry.

Wars of succession are rarely pretty. The heirs apparent of Moghul emperors in 17th century India used to take care of business simply by murdering all their relatives the minute the ruling emperor started to look ill.