e."

"Begging your pardon, it has another significance, which you will find
if you look into your dictionary,--that blessed Magna Charta of
linguistic rights and privileges. I do not claim the prerogatives of
Ruskin's class of the 'well educated, who are learned in the peerage
of words; know the words of true descent and ancient blood at a
glance, from words of modern _canaille_;' but I venture the assertion
that I am sufficiently sophisticated to plunge into the vortex of
public life, and yet keep my head above water."

"I don't want to see my little girl an actress, or a _prima donna_,
bold, forward, and eager to face a noisy, clamorous crowd, who feel
privileged to say just what they please about her. It would break my
heart; and, if you are bent on such a step, I hope you will wait, at
least, till I am dead."

"You ought to be willing to see me do anything honest, that will
secure my dependent brother and sister from want."

"The necessity of laboring for them is not especially imperative at
this juncture, and why should you be more sensitive now than formerly?
Do not deceive yourself, dear child, but face the truth, no matter how
ugly it may possibly be. It is not a sense of duty to the younger
children, but an inflated vanity, that prompts you to parade your
beauty and your wonderful voice on the stage, where they will elicit
applause and flattering adulation. My little girl, that is the most
dangerous, the most unhealthy atmosphere, a woman can possibly
breathe."

"Pray tell me how you learned all this? You, who have spent your life
in this quiet old house, who have been almost as secluded as some
Cambrian Culdee, can really know nothing of that public life you
condemn so bitterly."

"The history of those who have walked in the path you are now
preparing to follow, proves the deleterious influences and ruinous
associations that surround that class of women."

"Jenny Lind and Sarah Siddons redeem any class, no matter how much
maligned."

"But what assurance have I, that, unlike the ninety-nine, you will
resemble the one-hundredth?"

"Only try me, Miss Jane."

"Ah, child! A rash boy said the same thing when he tried to drive
the sun, and not only consumed himself but nearly burned up the
world. There is rather too much at stake to warrant such reckless
experiments."

"Quit mythology,--it is not in your line,--and come back to stern
facts and serious realities. Because I wish to dance a quadrille or