Florence was not an austere city; but, as
Mrs. Touchett said, she had to draw the line somewhere.
Madame Merle defended the luckless lady with a great deal of zeal
and wit. She couldn't see why Mrs. Touchett should make a scapegoat of
a woman who had really done no harm, who had only done good in the
wrong way. One must certainly draw the line, but while one was about
it one should draw it straight: it was a very crooked chalk-mark
that would exclude the Countess Gemini. In that case Mrs. Touchett had
better shut up her house; this perhaps would be the best course so
long as she remained in Florence. One must be fair and not make
arbitrary differences: the Countess had doubtless been imprudent,
she had not been so clever as other women. She was a good creature,
not clever at all; but since when had that been a ground of
exclusion from the best society? For ever so long now one had heard
nothing about her, and there could be no better proof of her having
renounced the error of her ways than her desire to become a member
of Mrs. Touchett's circle. Isabel could contribute nothing to this
interesting dispute, not even a patient attention; she contented
herself with having given a friendly welcome to the unfortunate
lady, who, whatever her defects, had at least the merit of being Mr.
Pages:
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490