She was good-natured enough to
laugh at any thing, and brilliant enough to make anybody else laugh; and
the evening passed away most pleasantly.
But Cornelia was no fool, to be made a butt of; and her personality was
too vigorous, her individuality too strong, not to make an impression
and way of its own wherever she was. The young ladies tried in vain to
patronize her: they had not the requisite capital in themselves; and the
young gentlemen soon gave up the attempt to make fun of her; her
vitality was too much for them, and they were, moreover, disconcerted by
her beauty. Miss Valeyon, however, was new to the world, and her
curiosity and vanity had large, unsatisfied appetites. To have been
patronized and made fun of would have done her little or no harm; but in
gratifying these appetites she might do a good deal of harm to herself.
When the young gentlemen were in town, or in the smoking-room, the young
ladies were of course thrown upon their own resources, and generally
drifted together in little groups, to talk in low tones or in loud, to
laugh or to whisper. Cornelia, who soon got upon terms of companionship
with one or two members of these conclaves, could hardly do otherwise
than occasionally join the meetings. At first she found little or
nothing of interest to herself in what they talked about.
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