There is something very absurd in the race for a wife out here

From The Great Mutiny by Christopher Hibbert. Page 36.

The arrival of a new young lady in the station was likely to cause the utmost excitement amongst officers and wives alike. 'No sooner is it known that Miss So-and-So is coming to the station than every- one begins to speculate who she will accept,' wrote Dr Hadow. 'For it is taken as a matter of course that all the bachelors will propose without loss of time, as the geese generally do in fact without waiting to see if the lady is likely to suit them or without thinking anything about relatives or antecedents. . . . There is something very absurd in the race for a wife out here.' But, at least, the race, while it lasted, 'helped to relieve the boring sameness of the days'.