“But the simple fact of my calling upon Mrs. Halloran cannot, possibly, give her the power of injuring me or any one else.”

“I think differently.  The fact that you have called upon her will be a reason for some others to do the same; for, you know, there are persons who never act from a distinct sense of right, but merely follow in the wake of others.  Thus the influence of a selfish, censorious, evil-minded woman will be extended.  So far as you are concerned, the danger may be greater than you imagine.  Is Mary Halloran, in your estimation, a fit companion for our daughter?  Could she become intimate with her, and not suffer a moral deterioration?”

“I think not.”

“Are you sure that a call upon Mrs. Halloran will not lead to this result?”

“No, I am not sure.  Still, I do not apprehend any danger.”

“I should be very much afraid of the experiment.”

“But, do you not think, husband, that, apart from all these fears, I am bound to extend to Mrs. Halloran the courtesies due a neighbor?”

“I cannot, in the true sense of the word, consider her a neighbor; and, therefore, do not see that you owe her the courtesies to which you allude.  It is the good in any one that really makes the neighbor.  This good should ever be regarded.  But, to show attentions, and give eminence and consideration to an evil-minded person, is to make evil, instead of good, the neighbor.—­It is to give that power to evil which is ever exercised in injury to others.”

Mrs. Leland’s mind perceived only in a small degree the force of what her husband said.—­She was not a woman who troubled herself about the characters of those who stood upon a certain level in society.  Mrs. Halloran claimed her place from wealth and family connexions, and this place was rather above than below that occupied by Mrs. Leland.  The temptation to call upon her was, therefore, pretty strong.  It was not so much a regard for her new neighbor, as a desire to make her acquaintance, that influenced her.—­Acting in opposition to her husband’s judgment, in a few days she called upon Mrs. Halloran.

She found her, to use her own words, a “charming woman.”  The next move was for the daughter to call upon Mary Halloran.  Before the week passed, these calls had been returned.  In a month the two families—­that is, the female members of them—­had become quite intimate.  This intimacy troubled Mr. Leland.  He was a man of pure principles, and could tolerate no deviation from them.  Deeply did he regret any association that might tend to weaken the respect for such principles with which he had sought to inspire the mind of his daughter.  In them he knew lay the power that was to protect her in the world.  But he could not interfere, arbitrarily, with his wife; that he would have considered more dangerous than to let her act in freedom.  But he felt concerned for the consequence, and frequently urged her not to be too intimate with her new neighbor.