The advocate., 1894-03-14

S
family of bread in thename of Christian
philanthropy.
On the afternoon of the Tuesday
when John Cotterell was to lecture,
Lena came unheralded to visit her aunt
for few days, and her advent Just at
that time caused Mrs. Delorme some
embarrassment; for the club which was
to meet that night consisted exclusively
of married women, and its meetings
were as secret as were those of the
early Christians in the Catacombs,. In
her recent conversation with John, Mrs.
Delorme, after stating that the club
met afternoons, thus explained the
secret character and the nature of the
meetings themselves
"The Major never gets home before
eleven at night, and on these. occasions
the lady at whose house the meeting is
to be held always let's her help, unless
she happens to have a girl we can trust,
have an afternoon out. Some of OuI
domestics meet with us, and they are
intelligent, too, and very much inter
eSted in our work. That is one of the
pleasures of our meetings. We all
treat each other, like the tirst-century
Christians, as equals-aS sisters, and
we all feel so much comfort in it."
Mrs. Delorme having told her in con
tidence of the meeting and the antici
pated lecture that night, and also some
thing about the lecturer, Lena declared
she would join the club and be present
if she had to hunt up some thOughtless
youth and marry him yet that after
noon in order to become eligible, and it
was contrary to the clubs strict regu-
latiOns to even permit a stranger to re-
main beneath the roof during its meet
ings. But finally, Mrs. DelOrme be-
thought her that, as Lena had come
Unexpectedly, this regulation could
scarcely be insisted upon in this in
stance, and that as she did not live in
Graham and such action could not
under the peculiar circumstances be
urged as precedent, the club might,
as a matter of prudence, admit her to
membership so as to pledge her to ever
lasting secrecy. This was agreed to by
the club when it met that night and
Lena was admitted and given the right
hand of fellowship.
"The Daughters of Joanna" had
assembled in Mrs. Delorme'S CapaCiouS
parlorS as early as half past seven.
Every lady present was tastefully
dressed, but there was noticeable alb
sence of expensive fabrics, jewelry and
all Ostentation. There were three or
four domestics in the room who were
members, but neither by their dress nor
by any difference of conduct or of treat
ment could a stranger have told which
ladies were the servants. The entire
company were, as Mrs. DelOrme had
stated to John Cotterell, simply sisters
an assembly of first century Christians,
where the hard lines of caste were, for
the time at least, obliterated, and, not
only disregarded in conduct, but, as
far as practicable, forgotten.
"Aunt Halle" said Lena to Mrs.
Delorme before the club had opened
its proceedings, eff your wonderful
socialist isn't big and handsome like
you say he is, I'll fall in love with him
for spite. Don't trifle with my affec-
tions, l beg Of you. If he's only a
'dude'-only an amateur workingman
-I'll tell all your awful secrets on the
housetops. Honest, now, Aunt Halle,
is he as"-
The bellrang, and Mrs. Delorme went
to answer it. She showed John into a
room across the hall, while Lena, hold
ing the parlor door a half inch ajar,
tried to catch glimpse of the lee
turer. Mrs. Delorme soon returned to
take the president, Mrs Offrick, to in
troduce her to John. Mrs. Offrick was
fat, determined-look but good
natured woman of sixty on whose
shapely head had plentifully fallen "the
SHOWS that never melt"-except under
the influence of a hair restorer or wig. |
She greeted John warmly, in her