Page:A hairdresser's experience in high life.djvu/196

198 and my good temper returned. I have often thought, while combing her, is it possible so amiable a person can live long in this world. Whenever and wherever I saw her, she was still the same—pleasant, agreeable and kind to every one around her. I have known her to be out in rain and storm, carrying food to the sick or poor, when other ladies would hardly venture forth, unless to a ball or party. She was the only daughter of a widow; she was not only a child, but a companion. Poor Mrs. S! she has never been forgotten by her family or friends. She was married in the middle season—for we had in Cincinnati, three distinct seasons for marrying in a certain set. The season before she was married there were several weddings among the old aristocracy; this beloved one attended them all till her own season come. She must have been lovely, when Frederica Bremer glanced at her and pronounced her even more lovely than her own Swedish ladies; which was a great deal for a foreigner to say, for the foreigners are not generally so charitable as our own American ladies. I always found her pleasant on going to her house; she was quite different from some others with whom, when they saw me, the first thing would be, "what is the news, did you not hear anything?" till I began to see there was something, and would set myself to find it out. Perhaps it might be something about a dear friend, when, of course, I would defend them manfully. They would then get alarmed and the first thing they would do, would be to go to this friend and say, I heard such and so; when asked for the name of their informant, the answer was, "my hair-dresser;" by that means there