Page:Shirley (1849 Volume 2).djvu/260

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
248
SHIRLEY.

dropped a few observations, which were answered thus:—

"There were hardships, she allowed, in the position of a governess: 'doubtless they had their trials; but,' she averred, with a manner it makes me smile now to recall—'but it must be so. She (Miss H.) had neither view, hope, nor wish to see these things remedied; for, in the inherent constitution of English habits, feelings, and prejudices, there was no possibility that they should be. Governesses,' she observed, 'must ever be kept in a sort of isolation: it is the only means of maintaining that distance which the reserve of English manners and the decorum of English families exact.'

"I remember I sighed as Miss Hardman quitted my bedside: she caught the sound, and turning, said severely,—

"'I fear, Miss Grey, you have inherited in fullest measure the worst sin of our fallen nature—the sin of pride. You are proud, and therefore you are ungrateful too. Mama pays you a handsome salary; and, if you had average sense, you would thankfully put up with much that is fatiguing to do and irksome to bear, since it is so well made worth your while.'

"Miss Hardman, my love, was a very strong-minded young lady, of most distinguished talents: the aristocracy are decidedly a very superior class,