Her feeling against Captain Elisha had been based
upon the latter's acceptance of that appointment when he should have
realized his unfitness. And his living with them and disgracing them in
the eyes of their friends by his uncouth, country ways, made her blind
to his good qualities. The Moriarty matter touched her conscience,
and she saw more clearly. But she was very far from considering him
an equal, or other than what Mrs. Corcoran Dunn termed him, an
"encumbrance," even yet. She forced herself to be kind and tolerant and
gave him more of her society, though the church-going experience was
not repeated, nor did she accompany him on his walks or out-of-door
excursions.
If Pearson's introductions had been wholly as a friend of her
guardian, her feeling toward him might have been tinged with the same
condescension or aversion, even. But, hallowed as he was by association
with her father, she welcomed him for the latter's sake. And, as she
became interested in the novel and found that her suggestions concerning
it were considered valuable, she looked forward to his visits and was
disappointed if, for any reason, they were deferred. Without being aware
of it, she began to like the young author, not alone because he wrote
entertainingly and flattered her by listening respectfully to her
criticisms, or because her father had liked him, but for himself.
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