Many an ancient commonplace is weird news to the nowaday ear.

The friends watch the two make their way between other habitués masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation[…]

Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

Competition forced them to slash prices.