Through the rough unpolished hulk that cased the soul of Trunnion,
she could easily distinguish a large share of that vanity and
self-conceit that generally predominate even in the most savage
beast; and to this she constantly appealed. In his presence she
always exclaimed against the craft and dishonest dissimulation
of the world, and never failed of uttering particular invectives
against those arts of chicanery in which the lawyers are so
conversant, to the prejudice and ruin of their fellow-creatures;
observing that in a seafaring life, as far as she had opportunities
of judging or being informed, there was nothing but friendship,
sincerity, and a hearty contempt for everything that was mean or
selfish.
This kind of conversation, with the assistance of certain particular
civilities, insensibly made an impression on the mind of the
commodore, and the more effectual as his former prepossessions were
built upon very slender foundations. His antipathy to old maids,
which he had conceived upon hearsay, began gradually to diminish
when he found they were not quite such infernal animals as they had
been presented; and it was not long before he was heard to observe,
at the club, that Pickle's sister had not so much of the core of
b-- in her as he had imagined.
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