And to her mind Violante carried her devotional practices, and yet more her devotional ideas, to excess.
Of the latter, indeed, the old Marchesa Lanfredi disapproved altogether.
Young people had no ideas upon the subject in her time;--and the world was certainly a better world then than it had been since.
And then, worst of all, it gradually became evident to the Marchesa's mind that there was a more or less direct connection in the way of cause and effect between her niece's religious notions and feelings and the strange readiness she had shown to find objections to both of the two persons who had been judged by her family to be admissible suitors for her hand.

The Marchesa began to entertain a strong apprehension that her niece had conceived the idea of "entering into religion;" i.e.of becoming a nun.
It had been necessary at the time of Violante's first coming to live with her aunt, to select a governess for her; and a lady had been found fitted to teach her all that it was proper for a noble young Italian lady to know.

But when she became seventeen it was judged expedient to change this lady for another.

A different sort of person was required.
Custom and the habits of life and convenience of the Marchesa made it expedient that a duenna should be provided to attend on the young Contessa; but she was supposed no longer to need an instructress.
The person selected for this trust was not perhaps altogether such as might have been desired.

By some fatality, arising probably from some latent incompatibility between the institution itself and the eternal order of things, it would seem as if the persons entrusted with that responsible situation rarely did turn out to be exactly the right people in the right place.