“That I have already done,” said Miss Herbert, making every effort in her power to seem unconcerned. “I know that the very best people may sometimes, in a moment of weakness, be thrown off of their guard, and say or do things entirely at variance with their real character, and for which, afterward, they feel the sincerest regret.”
“It is best always,” replied Mrs. Lindley, whose feelings no one need envy, “to judge thus kindly of others, even under marked provocation. But I cannot so readily excuse the person who, from so slight a cause, could be led into a gross violation of one of the commonest proprieties of life. Ah, me! How watchful we should all be, for we cannot tell at what moment we may be thrown off of our guard, and say or do something that will cost us unavailing regret.”
This was as much as Mrs. Lindley felt that she dared say upon the subject; and, as Miss Herbert’s reply did not lead to its continuance, the theme of conversation took another direction.
During the young lady’s stay in Philadelphia, Mrs. Lindley paid her every attention; but never in her presence did she feel at ease, for she had an instinctive assurance that she was known to Miss Herbert, as the person who had offered her, on slight provocation, a most gross indignity.
For all the kindness and attention of Mrs. Lindley to Miss Herbert, during her brief stay in Philadelphia, the latter could not forget the night of the concert. Reason the matter as she would, she could not force from her mind the natural conclusion that, when off their guard, people spoke as they felt. The anger of Mrs. Lindley’s voice, her impatient and insulting language, and particularly the expression of her face, were constantly presenting themselves to her mind.
“She may be a woman of many excellent qualities,” she said to herself, as she mused upon the unpleasant incident connected with their first meeting; “but I would not choose her as an intimate friend.”
On her return from the South, Miss Herbert passed through Philadelphia without calling upon Mrs. Lindley. She thought of doing so, and even debated the matter seriously, but the repugnance she felt prevented a renewal of the acquaintance. Reason with herself as she would, afterward, she found it impossible to think well of Mrs. Lindley, and though she has been in Philadelphia frequently since, has not visited her. Yet, for all this, Mrs. Lindley is a woman of excellent qualities, and much beloved among all her friends. In a moment of weakness she was thrown off of her guard, and betrayed into the utterance of unkind words; and that single phase of her character, presented to the eyes of a stranger, made an unfavorable impression that could not afterward be effaced.
MARIE.
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