He was always extremely polite to Lavinia,but he had no interest in her opinions or conversation.He only spoke to her to inform her of his wishes for Catherine.
Once,when the girl was about twelve years old,he said to his sister,'Try to make a clever women out of her,Lavinia.I should like her to be a clever woman.'
Mrs Penniman looked at him.'My dear Austin,'she said,'do you think it is better to be clever than to be good?'
'Good for what?'asked the Doctor. 'You are good for nothing unless you are clever.Of course I wish Catherine to be good,but it will not make her a better person to be a fool.'
Mrs Penniman was a tall,thin,fair woman.She was romantic,and her brother knew that she loved little secrets and mysteries.
'When Catherine is about seventeen,'he said to himself,'Lavinia will try and persuade her that some young man with a moustache is in love with her.It will be quite untrue.No young man,with or without amoustache,will ever be in love with Catherine.'
Catherine was strong and healthy,but she did not have any of her mother's beauty or her father's cleverness-in face,there was very little that was interesting about her at all.She was large and well built,with brown hair,a round face,and small,quitet eyes.The more generous friends of Doctor Sloper noticed that she was well behaven and polite;others thought she was just dull.But Catherine was not someone people spent much time talking a bout.