Her demeanor was that of maidenly reserve, and a ladylike dignity, a
quiet serenity, approaching--at periods, when any remark calculated to
infringe in the slightest degree upon those precincts with which
feminine delicacy and form have guarded its possessor--a stern severity
of glance, approving her a creature taught in the true school of
propriety, and chastened with a spirit that slept not on a watch, always
of perilous exposure in one so young and of her sex. On more than one
occasion did Ralph, in the course of the dinner, remark the indignant
fire flashing from her intelligent eye, when the rude speech of some
untaught boor assailed a sense finely-wrought to appreciate the proper
boundaries to the always adventurous footstep of unbridled
licentiousness. The youth felt assured, from these occasional glimpses,
that her education had been derived from a different influence, and that
her spirit deeply felt and deplored the humiliation of her present
condition and abode.
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