Sheclosedhereyesasshesatinoneoftheduskycornersofthequietparlour。butitwasnotwithadesirefordozingforgetfulness。Itwasonthecontrarybecauseshefelttoowide-eyedandwishedtocheckthesenseofseeingtoomanythingsatonce。Herimaginationwasbyhabitridiculouslyactive。whenthedoorwasnotopenitjumpedoutofthewindow。Shewasnotaccustomedindeedtokeepitbehindbolts。andatimportantmoments，whenshewouldhavebeenthankfultomakeuseofherjudgementalone，shepaidthepenaltyofhavinggivenundueencouragementtothefacultyofseeingwithoutjudging。Atpresent，withhersensethatthenoteofchangehadbeenstruck，camegraduallyahostofimagesofthethingsshewasleavingbehindher。Theyearsandhoursofherlifecamebacktoher，andforalongtime，inastillnessbrokenonlybythetickingofthebigbronzeclock，shepassedtheminreview。Ithadbeenaveryhappylifeandshehadbeenaveryfortunateperson-thiswasthetruththatseemedtoemergemostvividly。Shehadhadthebestofeverything，andinaworldinwhichthecircumstancesofsomanypeoplemadethemunenviableitwasanadvantagenevertohaveknownanythingparticularlyunpleasant。ItappearedtoIsabelthattheunpleasanthadbeeneventooabsentfromherknowledge，forshehadgatheredfromheracquaintancewithliteraturethatitwasoftenasourceofinterestandevenofinstruction。Herfatherhadkeptitawayfromher-herhandsome，much-lovedfather，whoalwayshadsuchanaversiontoit。Itwasagreatfelicitytohavebeenhisdaughter。
Isabelroseeventoprideinherparentage。Sincehisdeathshehadseemedtoseehimasturninghisbraversidetohischildrenandasnothavingmanagedtoignoretheuglyquitesomuchinpracticeasinaspiration。Butthisonlymadehertendernessforhimgreater。itwasscarcelyevenpainfultohavetosupposehimtoogenerous，toogood-natured，tooindifferenttosordidconsiderations。Manypersonshadheldthathecarriedthisindifferencetoofar，especiallythelargenumberofthosetowhomheowedmoney。OftheiropinionsIsabelwasneververydefinitelyinformed。butitmayinterestthereadertoknowthat，whiletheyhadrecognizedinthelateMr。
Archeraremarkablyhandsomeheadandaverytakingmannerindeed，asoneofthemhadsaid，hewasalwaystakingsomething，theyhaddeclaredthathewasmakingaverypooruseofhislife。Hehadsquanderedasubstantialfortune，hehadbeendeplorablyconvivial，hewasknowntohavegambledfreely。Afewveryharshcriticswentsofarastosaythathehadnotevenbroughtuphisdaughters。Theyhadhadnoregulareducationandnopermanenthome。theyhadbeenatoncespoiledandneglected。theyhadlivedwithnursemaidsandgovernessesusuallyverybadonesorhadbeensenttosuperficialschools，keptbytheFrench，fromwhich，attheendofamonth，theyhadbeenremovedintears。ThisviewofthematterwouldhaveexcitedIsabel’sindignation，fortoherownsenseheropportunitieshadbeenlarge。EvenwhenherfatherhadlefthisdaughtersforthreemonthsatNeufchatelwithaFrenchbonnewhohadelopedwithaRussiannoblemanstayingatthesamehotel-eveninthisirregularsituationanincidentofthegirl’seleventhyearshehadbeenneitherfrightenednorashamed，buthadthoughtitaromanticepisodeinaliberaleducation。Herfatherhadalargewayoflookingatlife，ofwhichhisrestlessnessandevenhisoccasionalincoherencyofconducthadbeenonlyaproof。Hewishedhisdaughters，evenaschildren，toseeasmuchoftheworldaspossible。anditwasforthispurposethat，beforeIsabelwasfourteen，hehadtransportedthemthreetimesacrosstheAtlantic，givingthemoneachoccasion，however，butafewmonths’viewofthesubjectproposed：acoursewhichhadwhettedourheroine’scuriositywithoutenablinghertosatisfyit。Sheoughttohavebeenapartisanofherfather，forshewasthememberofhistriowhomostmadeuptohimforthedisagreeableshedidn’tmention。Inhislastdayshisgeneralwillingnesstotakeleaveofaworldinwhichthedifficultyofdoingasonelikedappearedtoincreaseasonegrewolderhadbeensensiblymodifiedbythepainofseparationfromhisclever，hissuperior，hisremarkablegirl。Later，whenthejourneystoEuropeceased，hestillhadshownhischildrenallsortsofindulgence，andifhehadbeentroubledaboutmoney-mattersnothingeverdisturbedtheirirreflectiveconsciousnessofmanypossessions。
Isabel，thoughshedancedverywell，hadnottherecollectionofhavingbeeninNewYorkasuccessfulmemberofthechoregraphiccircle。hersisterEdithwas，aseveryonesaid，soverymuchmorefetching。EdithwassostrikinganexampleofsuccessthatIsabelcouldhavenoillusionsastowhatconstitutedthisadvantage，orastothelimitsofherownpowertofriskandjumpandshriek-aboveallwithrightnessofeffect。NineteenpersonsoutoftwentyincludingtheyoungersisterherselfpronouncedEdithinfinitelytheprettierofthetwo。butthetwentieth，besidesreversingthisjudgement，hadtheentertainmentofthinkingalltheothersaestheticvulgarians。
IsabelhadinthedepthsofhernatureanevenmoreunquenchabledesiretopleasethanEdith。butthedepthsofthisyounglady’snaturewereaveryout-of-the-wayplace，betweenwhichandthesurfacecommunicationwasinterruptedbyadozencapriciousforces。Shesawtheyoungmenwhocameinlargenumberstoseehersister。butasageneralthingtheywereafraidofher。theyhadabeliefthatsomespecialpreparationwasrequiredfortalkingwithher。Herreputationofreadingagreatdealhungaboutherlikethecloudyenvelopeofagoddessinanepic。itwassupposedtoengenderdifficultquestionsandtokeeptheconversationatalowtemperature。