utter some parting compliments, and then withdrew.
Five minutes afterwards she was shown into Mrs. Clayton's parlors,
where, in a moment or two, she was met by the lady upon whom she had
called, and received with an air of easy gracefulness, that at once
charmed her. A brief conversation convinced her that Mrs. Clayton
was, in intelligence and moral worth, as far above Mrs. Marygold, as
that personage imagined herself to be above her. Her daughters, who
came in while she sat conversing with their mother, showed
themselves to possess all those graces of mind and manner that win
upon our admiration so irresistably. An hour passed quickly and
pleasantly, and then Mrs. Lemmington withdrew.
The difference between Mrs. Lemmington and Mrs. Marygold was simply
this. The former had been familiar with what is called the best
society from her earliest recollection, and being therefore,
constantly in association with those looked upon as the upper class,
knew nothing of the upstart self-estimation which is felt by certain
weak ignorant persons, who by some accidental circumstance are
elevated far above the condition into which they moved originally.
She could estimate true worth in humble garb as well as in velvet
and rich satins. She was one of those individuals who never pass an
old and worthy domestic in the street without recognition, or
stopping to make some kind inquiry--one who never forgot a familiar
face, or neglected to pass a kind word to even the humblest who
possessed the merit of good principles. As to Mrs. Marygold,
notwithstanding her boast in regard to pedigree, there were not a
few who could remember when her grandfather carried a pedlar's pack
on his back--and an honest and worthy pedlar he was, saving his
pence until they became pounds, and then relinquishing his
peregrinating propensities, for the quieter life of a small
shop-keeper. His son, the father of Mrs. Marygold, while a boy had a
pretty familiar acquaintance with low life. But, as soon as his
father gained the means to do so, he was put to school and furnished
with a good education. Long before he was of age, the old man had
become a pretty large shipper; and when his son arrived at mature
years, he took him into business as a partner. In marrying, Mrs.
Marygold's father chose a young lady whose father, like his own, had
grown rich by individual exertions. This young lady had not a few
false notions in regard to the true genteel, and these fell
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