That I was gay and
imprudent at Saratoga, cannot be denied--gay and imprudent as are
too many fashionable women, under the exciting allurements of the
place. Little fond flirtations with gentlemen made up a part of our
pastime there. But as for sin--it was not in my thoughts!' She said
this with an emphasis that assured me of its truth. 'A mere life of
fashionable pleasure is a great exhauster of resources. One tires of
this excitement and of that, pushing them aside, as a child does an
old or broken toy, to grasp after something new. It is not
surprising, therefore, that mere pleasure-seeking women forget at
times the just proprieties of life, and, before they are aware of
danger, find themselves in very equivocal positions. This was simply
my case. Nothing more--nothing less.'
"She paused and looked earnestly into my face, to see if I credited
this assertion.
"'I have never believed any thing else,' said I.
"A faint, sad smile flitted across her wan face.
"'The consequences of this error on my part,' she went on, 'threaten
to be of the most disastrous kind.
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