Excerpt from Sights and Insights, Vol. 1: Patience Strong's Story of Over the Way A railway ride is such a good chance to read things that are not printed. That little picture of Mrs. Regis, which I took off without her knowledge or my own, at the moment, came out so very clear before me; it seemed to tell me a whole story. After ward, I came to know something of how much my first impres sion might be worth I have yet a great deal, I dare say, if we go on to get acquainted, both to verify and to rectify. It is funny what a mixture of surprising facts and mistaken conclu sions these first impressions Often turn out to be. But I always take care of that first negative. It is a key; if you don't turn the lock the wrong way with it. She was so very handsome, to begin with; sitting there alone in the one large, deep-cushioned rocking-chair before the fire, that crackled with its first Clean morning brightness; her feet, pretty and trim, though not so very small, set comfortably, in a ladylike way, on the low fender. And she was so fresh and comfortable. I described her just now, as we often describe, and credit to minor details, that which gives the mood and color to our general apprehension, when I spoke about the fire. Crackling with the first clean morning brightness. That was what she was, and what I have noticed her always since to be. There came an electric perception Of freshness all over, with just looking at her. She gave a sensation Of how nice it was to be just up, and bathed, and dressed. As Mrs. Gradgrind, or a more cheerful person, might have said, there was a face in the room pink and smooth with good rest, and cold water, and the pleasantness Of a morning blaze, and you did n't know whether it was somebody's else or yours. Really, looking at her, it didn't seem to make much difference, the sense of it was so keen. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.