Shirley had no fear of her kind, no tendency to shrink from, to avoid it. All human beings--men, women, or children--whom low breeding or coarse presumption did not render positively offensive, were welcome enough to her--some much more so than others, of course; but, generally speaking, till a man had indisputably proved himself bad and a nuisance, Shirley was willing to think him good and an acquisition, and to treat him accordingly. This disposition made her a general favourite, for it robbed her very raillery of its sting, and gave her serious or smiling conversation a happy charm; nor did it diminish the value of her intimate friendship, which was a distinct thing from this social benevolence--depending, indeed, on quite a different part of her character. 
Shirley had no fear of humanity, no tendency to shrink from it, and since she thought well of all people until they might prove otherwise, she was a general favourite.
