"I never thought you guilty of meanness before," said Lester gravely.
"Meanness!"
"Yes! for is it not mean to be jealous of superior acquirements, instead of admiring them?"
"What has been the use of those acquirements? Has he benefited mankind by them? Shew me the poet—the historian—the orator, and I will yield to none of you; no, not to Madeline herself in homage of their genius: but the mere creature of books—the dry and sterile collector of other men's learning—no—no. What should I admire in such a machine of literature, except a waste of perseverance?—And Madeline calls him handsome too!"
At this sudden turn from declamation to reproach, Lester laughed outright; and his nephew, in high anger, rose and left the room.
"Who could have thought Walter so foolish?" said Madeline.
"Nay," observed Ellinor gently, "it is the folly of a kind heart, after all. He feels sore at our seeming to prefer another—I mean another's conversation—to his!"
