Though no unkind word ever passed between us, nor any approach
to one, yet we two dwelt for months under the same roof, as
scarcely more than acquaintances, meeting once a day at a
common board, and having certain business relations with
each other. Personally, I regarded her rather as my wife's
cherished friend than as my own, possessing many lofty
qualities and some prominent weaknesses, and a good deal
spoiled by the unmeasured flattery of her little circle of
inordinate admirers. For myself, burning no incense on any
human shrine, I half-consciously resolved to 'keep my eye beam
clear,' and escape the fascination which she seemed to exert
over the eminent and cultivated persons, mainly women, who
came to our out-of-the-way dwelling to visit her, and who
seemed generally to regard her with a strangely Oriental
adoration.
"But as time wore on, and I became inevitably better and
better acquainted with her, I found myself drawn, almost
irresistibly, into the general current. I found that her
faults and weaknesses were all superficial and obvious to the
most casual, if undazzled, observer.
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