true to your native instincts. They will quickly warn you, if evil
approaches. Oh! heed the warning. Give no favourable regard to the
man toward whom you feel an instinctive repulsion at the first
meeting. No matter what his station, connections, or personal
accomplishments--heed the significant warning. Do not let the
fascinations of a brilliant exterior, nor even ardent expressions of
regard, make you for a moment forget that, when he first came near
you, your spirit shrunk away, as from something that would do it
harm. If you observe such a man closely, weigh all that he does and
says, when ardent in the pursuit of some desired object, you will
not lack for more palpable evidences of his quality than the simple
impression which the sphere of his life made at your first meeting.
Guarded as men are, who make an exterior different from their real
quality, they are never able to assume a perfect disguise--no more
than a deformed person can so hide, by dress, the real shape, that
the attentive eye cannot discern its lack of symmetry. The eyes of
your spirit see truths, as your natural eyes see material objects;
and truths are real things. There are true principles, which, if
obeyed, lead to what is good; and there are false principles, which,
if followed, lead to evil. The one conducts to happiness, the other
to inevitable misery. The warning which another sense, corresponding
with the perception of odours in the body, gives you of evil in a
man, at his first approach, is intended to put you on your guard,
and lead to a closer observation of the person. The eyes of your
understanding, if kept clear, will soon give you evidence as to his
quality that cannot be gainsaid. And, believe me, Fanny, though a
slight acquaintance may seem to contradict the instinctive judgment,
in nine cases out of ten the warning indication will be verified in
the end. Do you understand me?"