I like to think sometimes that you believe in me." "Oh, I do," protested Donna Tullia, with a sudden change of manner.

"I was only laughing.

I think you are really in earnest.

Only, you know, nowadays, it is not the fashion to utter moralities in a severe tone, with an air of conviction.

A little dash of cynicism--you know, a sort of half sneer--is so much more _chic_; it gives a much higher idea of the morality, because it conveys the impression that it is utterly beyond you.