’If I go to Mrs. Dawes, and she repeats them to me, I shall slap her face or box her ears I’m afraid, for I couldn’t stand tales being told of poor Mary’s daughter, as if they were just a stirring piece of news like James Horrocks’ pig with two heads,’ said Miss Browning, meditating aloud.  ’That would do harm instead of good.  Phoebe, I’m really sorry I boxed your ears, only I should do it again if you said the same things.’  Phoebe sate down by her sister, and took hold of one of her withered hands, and began caressing it, which was her way of accepting her sister’s expression of regret.  ’If I speak to Molly, the child will deny it, if she’s half as good-for-nothing as they say; and if she’s not, she’ll only worry herself to death.  No, that won’t do.  Mrs. Goodenough—­but she’s a donkey; and if I convinced her, she could never convince any one else.  No; Mrs. Dawes, who told you, shall tell me, and I’ll tie my hands together inside my muff, and bind myself over to keep the peace.  And when I’ve heard what is to be heard, I’ll put the matter into Mr. Gibson’s hands.  That’s what I’ll do.  So it’s no use your saying anything against it, Phoebe, for I shan’t attend to you.’

Miss Browning went to Mrs. Dawes’, and began civilly enough to make inquiries about the reports current in Hollingford about Molly and Mr. Preston; and Mrs. Dawes fell into the snare, and told all the real and fictitious circumstances of the story in circulation, quite unaware of the storm that was gathering and ready to fall upon her as soon as she stopped speaking.  But she had not the long habit of reverence for Miss Browning which would have kept so many Hollingford ladies from justifying themselves if she found fault.  Mrs. Dawes stood up for herself and her own veracity, bringing out fresh scandal, which she said she did not believe, but that many did; and adducing so much evidence as to the truth of what she had said and did believe, that Miss Browning was almost quelled, and sate silent and miserable at the end of Mrs. Dawes’ justification of herself.

‘Well!’ she said at length, rising up from her chair as she spoke, ’I’m very sorry I’ve lived till this day; it’s a blow to me just as if I had heard of such goings-on in my own flesh and blood.  I suppose I ought to apologize to you, Mrs. Dawes, for what I said; but I’ve no heart to do it to-day.  I ought not to have spoken as I did; but that’s nothing to this affair, you see.’

’I hope you do me the justice to perceive that I only repeated what I had heard on good authority, Miss Browning,’ said Mrs. Dawes in reply.

’My dear, don’t repeat evil on any authority unless you can do some good by speaking about it,’ said Miss Browning, laying her hand on Mrs. Dawes’ shoulder.  ’I’m not a good woman, but I know what is good, and that advice is.  And now I think I can tell you that I beg your pardon for flying out upon you so; but God knows what pain you were putting me to.  You’ll forgive