procession and dancing on each than in the members being solely women in men s clubs such were though less uncommon but either the natural of the softer sex or a sarcastic attitude on the part of male relatives had such women s clubs as remained if any other did of this their glory and the maiden the club of alone lived to the local it had walked for hundreds of years if not as benefit club as of some sort and it walked still the ones were all dressed in white gowns � sl gay from old style days when cheerfulness and may time were � days before the habit of taking long views had reduced emotions to a monotonous average their first exhibition of themselves was in a march of two and two round the parish ideal and real slightly as the sun lit up their figures against the green hedges and house fronts for though the whole troop wore white garments no two were alike among them some approached pure some had a some worn by the older characters which had possibly lain by folded for many a year inclined to a tint and to a style in addition to the distinction of a white frock every woman and girl carried in her right hand a willow and in her left a bunch of white flowers the of the former and the selection of the latter had been an operation of personal care there were a few middle aged and even elderly women in the train their silver hair and wrinkled faces by time and trouble having almost a grotesque certainly a pathetic appearance in such a situation in a true view perhaps there was more to be gathered and told of each anxious and experienced one to whom the years were drawing nigh when she should say i have no pleasure in them than of her comrades but let the elder be passed over here for those under whose the life quick and warm the young girls formed indeed the majority of the band and their heads of luxuriant hair reflected in the sunshine every tone of gold and black and brown some had beautiful eyes others a beautiful ii op the d nose others a beautiful mouth and figure few if any had all a of arranging their lips in this crude exposure to public scrutiny an inability to balance their heads and to self consciousness from their features was apparent in them and showed that they were genuine country girls to many eyes and as each and all of them were warmed without by the sim so each had a private little for her soul to in some dream some affection some at least some remote and distant hope which though perhaps starving to nothing still lived on as hopes will thus they were all cheerful and many of them merry they came round by the pure drop inn and were turning out of the high road to pass through a gate into the meadows when one of the women said � the lord a lord why if there isn t thy father riding in a carriage a young member of the band turned her head at the exclamation she was a fine and handsome girl � not than some others possibly � but her mouth and large innocent eyes added eloquence to colour and shape she wore a red ribbon in her hair and was the only one of the white company who could boast of such a pronounced as she looked round was seen moving along the road in a chaise belonging to the pure drop driven by a headed with her gown sleeves rolled above her elbows this was the servant of that establishment who in her part of turned groom and at times leaning back and with his eyes closed was waving his hand above his head and singing in a slow � i ve got a t family vault at � and f in lead there tlie except the girl called the maiden � in whom a slow heat seemed to rise at the sense that her father was making himself foolish in their eyes he s tired that s all she said hastily and he has got a lift home because our own horse has to rest to day bless thy simplicity said her companions he s got his market look here i won t walk another inch with you if you say any jokes about him cried and the colour upon her cheeks spread over her face and neck in a moment her eyes grew moist and her glance drooped to the ground perceiving that they had really pained her they said no more and order again prevailed s pride would not allow her to turn her head again to learn what her father s meaning was if he had any and thus she moved on with the whole body to the where there was to be dancing on the green by the time the spot was reached she had recovered her and tapped her neighbour with her and talked as usual at this time of her life was a mere vessel of emotion by experience the dialect was on her tongue to some extent despite the village school the characteristic of that dialect for this district being the rendered by the syllable ur probably as rich an utterance as any to be found in speech the up deep red mouth to which this syllable was native had hardly as yet settled into its definite shape and her lower lip had a way of thrusting the middle of her top one upward when they closed together after a word phases of her childhood in her aspect still as she walked along to day for all her handsome you could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks or her ninth sparkling from her eyes and even her 