The Bracelets | Page 5

the second, or the third
attempt, but depend upon it that you will at last; every new effort will
weaken your bad habits and strengthen your good ones. But you must
not expect to succeed all at once; I repeat it to you, for habit must be
counteracted by habit. It would be as extravagant in us to expect that all
our faults could be destroyed by one punishment, were it ever so severe,
as it was in the Roman emperor we were reading of a few days ago to
wish that all the heads of his enemies were upon one neck, that he
might cut them off by one blow."
Here Mrs. Villars took Cecilia by the hand, and they began to walk

home. Such was the nature of Cecilia's mind, that, when any object was
forcibly impressed on her imagination, it caused a temporary
suspension of her reasoning faculties. Hope was too strong a stimulus
for her spirits; and when fear did take possession of her mind, it was
attended with total debility. Her vanity was now as much mortified as
in the morning it had been elated. She walked on with Mrs. Villars in
silence until they came under the shade of the elm-tree walk, and then,
fixing her eyes upon Mrs. Villars, she stopped short. "Do you think,
madam," said she, with hesitation, "do you think, madam, that I have a
bad heart?"
"A bad heart, my dear! why, what put that into your head?"
"Leonora said that I had, ma'am, and I felt ashamed when she said so."
"But, my dear, how can Leonora tell whether your heart be good or bad?
However, in the first place, tell me what you mean by a bad heart."
"Indeed, I do not know what is meant by it, ma'am; but it is something
which every body hates."
"And why do they hate it?"
"Because they think that it will hurt them, ma'am, I believe; and that
those who have bad hearts take delight in doing mischief; and that they
never do any body good but for their own ends."
"Then the best definition which you can give me of a bad heart is that it
is some constant propensity to hurt others, and to do wrong for the sake
of doing wrong."
"Yes, ma'am, but that is not all neither; there is still something else
meant; something which I cannot express--which, indeed, I never
distinctly understood; but of which, therefore, I was the more afraid."
"Well, then, to begin with what you do understand, tell me, Cecilia, do
you really think it possible to be wicked merely for the love of
wickedness? No human being becomes wicked all at once; a man

begins by doing wrong because it is, or because he thinks it is for his
interest; if he continue to do so, he must conquer his sense of shame,
and lose his love of virtue. But how can you, Cecilia, who feel such a
strong sense of shame, and such an eager desire to improve, imagine
that you have a bad heart?"
"Indeed, madam, I never did, until every body told me so, and then I
began to be frightened about it. This very evening, ma'am, when I was
in a passion, I threw little Louisa's strawberries away; which, I am sure,
I was very sorry for afterwards; and Leonora and every body cried out
that I had a bad heart; but I am sure that I was only in a passion."
"Very likely. And when you are in a passion, as you call it, Cecilia, you
see that you are tempted to do harm to others; if they do not feel angry
themselves, they do not sympathize with you; they do not perceive the
motive which actuates you, and then they say that you have a bad heart.
I dare say, however, when your passion is over, and when you recollect
yourself, you are very sorry for what you have done and said; are not
you?"
"Yes, indeed, madam, very sorry."
"Then make that sorrow of use to you, Cecilia, and fix it steadily in
your thoughts, as you hope to be good and happy, that, if you suffer
yourself to yield to your passion upon every trifling occasion, anger
and its consequences will become familiar to your mind; and in the
same proportion your sense of shame will be weakened, till what you
began with doing from sudden impulse you will end with doing from
habit and choice; and then you would, indeed, according to our
definition, have a bad heart."
"Oh, madam! I hope--I am sure I never shall."
"No, indeed, Cecilia; I do, indeed, believe that you never will; on the
contrary, I think that you have a very good disposition, and, what