Read this excerpt from the importance of being earnest by oscar wilde. which four sets of lines satirize the victorians' tendency to place wealth above other factors in deciding whether a person was eligible for marriage?
algernon: i am engaged to be married to cecily, aunt augusta.

lady bracknell: i beg your pardon?

cecily: mr. moncrieff and i are engaged to be married, lady bracknell.

lady bracknell: [with a shiver, crossing to the sofa and sitting down.]
a. *i think some preliminary inquiry on my
part would not be out of place. mr. worthing, is miss cardew at all
connected with any of the larger railway stations in london? * i merely
desire information. until yesterday i had no idea that there were any
families or persons whose origin was a terminus. [jack looks perfectly
furious, but restrains himself.]

jack: [in a clear, cold voice.] miss cardew is the grand-daughter of
the late mr. thomas cardew of 149 belgrave square, s. w.; gervase park,
dorking, surrey; and the sporran, fifeshire, n. b.

lady bracknell: b. *that sounds not unsatisfactory. three addresses always
inspire confidence, even in tradesmen.*



jack: [very irritably.] how extremely kind of you, lady bracknell! i
have also in my possession, you will be to hear, certificates of
miss cardew's birth, baptism, whooping cough, registration, vaccination,
confirmation, and the measles; both the german and the english variety.

lady bracknell: ah! a life crowded with incident, i see; though perhaps
somewhat too exciting for a young girl. i am not myself in favour of
premature experiences. [rises, looks at her watch.] gwendolen! the time
approaches for our departure. we have not a moment to lose. c.*as a matter
of form, mr. worthing, i had better ask you if miss cardew has any little
fortune? *

jack: d. *oh! about a hundred and thirty thousand pounds in the funds. that
is all.* goodbye, lady bracknell. so to have seen you.

lady bracknell: [sitting down again.] a moment, mr. worthing. e. *a
hundred and thirty thousand pounds! and in the funds! miss cardew seems
to me a most attractive young lady, now that i look at her.* few girls of
the present day have any really solid qualities, any of the qualities
that last, and improve with time. we live, i regret to say, in an age of
surfaces. [to cecily.] come over here, dear. [cecily goes across.]
f. *pretty child! your dress is sadly simple, and your hair seems almost as
nature might have left it.* but we can soon alter all that.