But luckily for her, she only said it to herself, and Mr.
Bond, conscious of his own integrity, kept on his even way, scattering
blessings wherever he went, and never imagining that his very Christian
deeds were the occasion of many an unjust query on the part of his
curious and suspicious landlady.

She, poor soul! fumed and fretted inwardly until the gloss and shine
were quite gone from her widowed cheeks, leaving them really sallow and
wrinkled. There's nothing like a contented, happy disposition, Mrs.
Kinalden, to preserve one's youth and beauty. You need not brush up your
fading charms before your tell-tale mirror, and try to restore your lost
luster by artificial means; it won't effect any thing. The fact is, the
trouble is internal. You must cleanse first the inner man of the heart,
and you will be surprised at the reflection of your own face then, it
will change into such a mysterious winsomeness! Never mind Mr. Bond's
actions--they can not lie at your door, but take care that your own are
as free from taint as your inexplicable neighbor's. It is not for you to
see the hidden motives that govern those about you; the best way for you
is to think favorably of every body, and you have no idea how much peace
and comfort it will bring to your own soul.

Mrs. Bates had never dreamed of questioning her benefactor's deeds, they
showed their uprightness upon the very face of them, and she had no
fellowship with her gossiping neighbors, to whose flings she could not
always be deaf. Mrs. Flin began to be more social, much to her regret,
for she had little sympathy with her loquacious guest. What was it to
her if the Airly's did keep a span, and drive out every day? she was
willing Mrs. Flin's friends should accumulate riches, and enjoy them,
too, if she did live in an humble attic, and stitch from morn till night
for her daily bread. What if Mrs. Airly had a new silk, spring and fall,
and was getting in with such good society? It did not make her a whit
the less thankful for her scanty yet neat wardrobe, nor for the few
friends it was her fortune to possess. She didn't mind if Master Sammy
was to go to a select school! She had all confidence in Mr. Bond's
judgment concerning Nannie, and rejoiced that she could feel so easy as
to the child's moral culture. She didn't care for Mrs. Flin's foolish
prattle about her great acquaintances, and her own future anticipations
of a higher station. It was not half of it that she heard;