“I never have been impressed by his ability,” remarked Lisa, grandly. But Persis’s account did make some difference in her manner toward the young man, and one evening she found herself more than usually entertained in a long conversation with him.
There was a direct simplicity about Maurice Danforth which Grandma Estabrook approved highly, but which Lisa declared indicated a man unaccustomed to conventionalities, a grievous fault in her school-girl eyes. However, she did concede, after a time, that he was a very intelligent man, even if he did forget to use his opportunities for paying compliments, and treated her just as he did every one else; but the concession brought a sort of defiance with it.
“He’s got to treat me more courteously,” she said to herself. She caught him looking at her sometimes in what she considered a judicial way, and she determined to change the look to one of admiration, if possible.
But a conversation she heard one evening on the porch turned her impulse in a strangely new direction. Annis, Persis, and the two boys were frolicking in one corner. Mrs. Estabrook, with Mr. Danforth, sat somewhat apart from the other three ladies, who were chatting upon every-day topics. Lisa, with Ruth in her arms, was sitting in a low rocker listening to the child’s whispered confidences about Callie and Patience.
“What a sweet, earnest little face Annis Brown has,” Mrs. Estabrook said; and the answer came,—
“Yes; there is pure goodness there.”
“She is doing Persis a world of good,” returned grandma. “Persis is so impetuous, and is so ready with her opinions, that I think Annis is a very helpful influence for her.”
“They are very different-looking girls,” returned Mr. Danforth; “yet Miss Persis has a fine face. Hers is a strong character.”
“She is not so pretty as her sisters,” Mrs. Estabrook said, reluctantly; “but,” she added, “I am not sure but that she will be more beloved.”
“Beauty is not always lovable, nor even admirable,” Mr. Danforth observed. “The woman whose face indicates self-esteem and selfishness can never be beautiful.”