Her whole nature flamed to
it, and there were moments when she walked visibly transfigured in the
glow of it. Her mind was rich, moreover, in the delicate, inchoate
lovers, the half-poetic, half-intellectual passions, the mystical
yearnings and aspirations, which haunt a pure expanding youth. Such
human beings, Mrs. Colwood reflected, are not generally made for
happiness. But there were also in Diana signs both of practical ability
and of a rare common-sense. Would this last avail to protect her from
her enthusiasms? Mrs. Colwood remembered a famous Frenchwoman of whom it
was said: "Her _judgment_ is infallible--her _conduct_ one long
mistake!" The little companion was already sufficiently attached to Miss
Mallory to hope that in this case a natural tact and balance might not
be thrown away.
As to suitors and falling in love, the natural accompaniments of such a
charming youth, Mrs. Colwood came across no traces of anything of the
sort. During her journey with her father to India, Japan, and America,
Miss Mallory had indeed for the first time seen something of society.
But in the villa beside the Mediterranean it was evident that her life
with her father had been one of complete seclusion.
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