"And what are letters? Only a sort of _pis aller_. Drink some tea, Caroline. Eat something--you eat nothing. Laugh and be cheerful, and stay at home."
Miss Helstone shook her head and sighed. She felt what difficulty she would have to persuade any one to assist or sanction her in making that change in her life which she believed desirable. Might she only follow her own judgment, she thought she should be able to find perhaps a harsh but an effectual cure for her sufferings. But this judgment, founded on circumstances she could fully explain to none, least of all to Shirley, seemed, in all eyes but her own, incomprehensible and fantastic, and was opposed accordingly.

"And what are letters? Only a stopgap. Drink some tea, Caroline. Eat something - you eat nothing. Laugh and be cheerful, and stay at home."
Miss Helstone shook her head and sighed. She felt how difficult it would be to persuade anyone to help her make the change which she believed desirable. But this cure for circumstances which she could fully explain to none, least of all to Shirley, seemed, in all eyes but her own, incomprehensible.
