Lily began to
enter a little into his principle, and many things that occurred
during these holidays made her mistrust her former judgment. She saw
that without the unvarying principle of right and wrong, fraternal
love itself would fail in outward acts and words. Forbearance,
though undeniably a branch of love, could not exist without constant
remembrance of duty; and which of them did not sometimes fail in
kindness, meekness, and patience? Did Emily show that softness,
which was her most agreeable characteristic, in her whining reproofs-
-in her complaints that 'no one listened to a word she said'--in her
refusal to do justice even to those who had vainly been seeking for
peace? Did Lily herself show any of her much valued love, by the
sharp manner in which she scolded the boys for roughness towards
herself? or for language often used by them on purpose to make her
displeasure a matter of amusement? She saw that her want of command
of temper was a failure both in love and duty, and when irritated,
the thought of duty came sooner to her aid than the feeling of love.
And Maurice and Reginald were really very provoking. Maurice loved
no amusement better than teasing his sisters, and this was almost the
only thing in which Reginald agreed with him.
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