Yet all the while her friend saw that she was very hard, and bent upon being hard; that, had Cardross appeared before her at that minute, she would immediately have frozen up again into the stern mother whose confidence had been betrayed, whose principles infringed, and who, though loving her son with all the strength of her heart, could also punish him with all the power of her conscience, even though her heart was breaking with sorrow the while.
"I will give you the best advice I can.

But, first, let me have his letter again." Lord Cairnforth read it slowly over, Mrs.Bruce's eager eyes watching him, and then suffered her to take it from his helpless hands, and fold it up, tenderly, as mothers do.
"What do you think of it ?" "Exactly what I did this morning--that your boy has been very foolish, but not wicked.

There is no attempt at deception or untruthfulness.
"No, thank God! Whatever else he is, my son is not a liar.

I have prevented or conquered that." "Yes, because you brought him up, as your father brought us up, to be afraid of nothing, to speak out our minds to him without fear of offending him, to stand in no dread of rousing his anger, but only of grieving his love.

And so, you see, Helen, it is the same with your boy.