"
Mr. Joe was guilty of the weakness of blushing
violently and looking immensely gratified; but
his rapture was of short duration, for Debby went
on very earnestly,--
"I believe I am going to do what you may
consider a very impertinent thing; but I would
rather be unmannerly than unjust to others or
untrue to my own sense of right. Mr. Leavenworth,
if you were an older man, I should not dare to say
this to you; but I have brothers of my own, and,
remembering how many unkind things they do for
want of thought, I venture to remind you that a
woman's heart is a perilous plaything, and too tender
to be used for a selfish purpose or an hour's
pleasure. I know this kind of amusement is not
considered wrong; but it is wrong, and I cannot
shut my eyes to the fact, or sit silent while another
woman is allowed to deceive herself and wound
the heart that trusts her. Oh, if you love your
own sisters, be generous, be just, and do not
destroy that poor girl's happiness, but go away
before your sport becomes a bitter pain to her!"
Joe Leavenworth had stood staring at Debby
with a troubled countenance, feeling as if all the
misdemeanors of his life were about to be paraded
before him; but, as he listened to her plea, the
womanly spirit that prompted it appealed more
loudly than her words, and in his really generous
heart he felt regret for what had never seemed
a fault before.
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