"
Sophie was perhaps more interested in this extravaganza of Cornelia's
than if she had known the incident upon which it was mainly founded;
but, on the other hand, it is possible that less exaggerated language
would not have given her so correct an idea of Bressant's character.
Cornelia--there being nothing else to especially occupy her
thoughts--had allowed them to run a good deal upon Bressant, and upon
what happened by the fountain in the garden: perhaps she had mingled the
real things and events with the fantasies of her dreams, and thus built
up an impression and theory in regard to the young man considerably more
picturesque than was warranted by the premises at her command. All this
would have been done involuntarily; and possibly Sophie's question
elicited the first conscious perception and statement of what Cornelia's
opinion had grown to be. But unconscious judgments are often more
accurate than deliberate ones because there is more of intuition about
them.
Be that as it may, from the moment Sophie imbibed the idea that there
was something strange, fierce, and ungovernable in Bressant's nature,
she felt her sympathy and interest moved and aroused. It was the
instinctive attraction of one strong spirit toward another, the more,
because that other was so differently embodied, endowed, and
circumstanced.
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