A Struggle for a Ring — page 198: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

194 MADAME ROUBART’S ADVICE. ‘That is just what I mean,” laughed madame; ‘‘there- fore I wonder why you have that tragic expression—that earnest, settled sadness.” ‘‘Is there no cause of sorrow besides love?” asked Alice. ‘‘Yes; I should say want of money was a thousand times harder to bear; but you have neither, Miss Derwent, so try to look less like a tragic muse. I have often told you you cannot make a greater mistake in this world than to show emotion, feeling, or sensibility of any kind; the world only comments upon it to laugh at it.* The most perfect, well-bred woman,” continued madame, ‘‘is the one who neyer shows joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain; who could stand, as many women do stand, with her foot ona red-hot plow-share, and not betray the least emotion of pain; women in society have more to bear than that. I have seen them smile a languid, indifferent smile, while I have known that a red-hot sword had just been plunged deep into their hearts. JI have seen them smile, talk, laugh, sing, when I have known that they would have given worlds to have sought refuge even in death. The great art of good breeding is absence of all feeling. If you wish to make a decided success in society, you must take all that sabe tie fiom your face.” ‘J will try,” said Alice; but the trial was all useless. She forgot it in a very few minutes, and looked more like a Greek muse than ever. ‘‘Four years,” she was saying to herself, as she stood this morning in her little room. Next year he would be back again, and what would happen then? She had been home occasionally during that time, and on each occasion had found matters a little improved. ‘The help that Lord _Carsdale had given to the dancing-master had, to use his comicbooks.c