of course , it would be very much easier to bring miss barr to the attention of young men at a ball ; but though i have considered the notion of offering to pay her subscription , in the end i am always deterred by the suspicion that a person who has no more than two morning dresses is unlikely to possess the proper attire for even a cotillion-ball , and the knowledge that even if she were somehow suitably clothed and persuaded to attend , she would recoil in genuine horror if any gentlemen were actually presented to her as desirable partners for the dance .