But women will hev t' last word, if they die for 't."
"If she'll pay t' brass, she can hev as many words as she wants; I'm
none flayed for any woman's tongue--not I, indeed."
And these sentiments, expressed in forms more or less polite, were
the prevailing ones regarding Miss Hallam's tardy acknowledgment of
the debt of Hallam to the neighborhood. Many were the discussions in
fashionable drawing-rooms as to the propriety of rewarding the justice
of Elizabeth's action, by bows, or smiles, or calls. But privately
few people were really inclined, as yet, to renew civilities with her.
They argued, in their own hearts, that during the many years of
retrenchment she could not afford to return hospitalities on a scale
of equivalent splendor; and, in fact, poverty is offensive to wealth,
and they had already treated Miss Hallam badly, and, therefore,
disliked her. It was an irritation to have the disagreeable subject
forced upon their attention at all. If she had assumed her brother's
debts at the time of his failure, they were quite sure they would have
honored her, however poor she had left herself. But humanity has its
statutes of limitation even for good deeds; every one decided that
Elizabeth had become honorable and honest too late.
And for once the men were as hard as their wives.
Pages:
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259