Mrs.Glegg heard a circumstantial narrative, to which Mr.Pullet's remarkable memory furnished some items; and while aunt Pullet pitied poor Bessy's bad luck with her children, and expressed a half-formed project of paying for Maggie's being sent to a distant boarding-school, which would not prevent her being so brown, but might tend to subdue some other vices in her, aunt Glegg blamed Bessy for her weakness, and appealed to all witnesses who should be living when the Tulliver children had turned out ill, that she, Mrs.Glegg, had always said how it would be from the very first, observing that it was wonderful to herself how all her words came true.
"Then I may call and tell Bessy you'll bear no malice, and everything be as it was before ?" Mrs.Pullet said, just before parting.
"Yes, you may, Sophy," said Mrs.Glegg; "you may tell Mr.Tulliver, and Bessy too, as I'm not going to behave ill because folks behave ill to me; I know it's my place, as the eldest, to set an example in every respect, and I do it.

Nobody can say different of me, if they'll keep to the truth." Mrs.Glegg being in this state of satisfaction in her own lofty magnanimity, I leave you to judge what effect was produced on her by the reception of a short letter from Mr.Tulliver that very evening, after Mrs.Pullet's departure, informing her that she needn't trouble her mind about her five hundred pounds, for it should be paid back to her in the course of the next month at farthest, together with the interest due thereon until the time of payment.

And furthermore, that Mr.Tulliver had no wish to behave uncivilly to Mrs.Glegg, and she was welcome to his house whenever she liked to come, but he desired no favors from her, either for himself or his children.
It was poor Mrs.Tulliver who had hastened this catastrophe, entirely through that irrepressible hopefulness of hers which led her to expect that similar causes may at any time produce different results.

It had very often occurred in her experience that Mr.Tulliver had done something because other people had said he was not able to do it, or had pitied him for his supposed inability, or in any other way piqued his pride; still, she thought to-day, if she told him when he came in to tea that sister Pullet was gone to try and make everything up with sister Glegg, so that he needn't think about paying in the money, it would give a cheerful effect to the meal.

Mr.Tulliver had never slackened in his resolve to raise the money, but now he at once determined to write a letter to Mrs.Glegg, which should cut off all possibility of mistake.