Year: 1878

should call rather a snappish manner, as If they


were not of the aristocracy.


Mrs. Lesley looked sick, and was real anxious
| about her. You see, were going to close with


little public meeting. The gentlemen who were
| to receive our money were to make speeches and


our president was to make a statement of our work
| Of course she must not give out till that was over


and insisted upon her going home to rest in the


afternoon. 1 thought then that the worst of her


WEAKNESS came from her feeling so badly over
| what seemed to her to be violation of principle in
| our fair.


She came back with her eyes as bright as could


be- and the two little red spots in her cheeks and
| the curious set look about her mouth she always
has when she is going to do something that is hard
| to do, and going to do it well. She looked just
exactly as she did that night, so many years ago,


when we girls gave the First regiment of Blank
town volunteers, who left for the war, silk flag,
| and she made the presentation speech. She was


Mary Noble then, and, although we younger girls


didn't know it, was engaged to Col. Lesley.
! Mrs. Gray pretended that she dsliked the pub
licity of this formal presentation. overheard her
telling her most intimate friend that "it tried her


beyond description to have her dear sister willing
to make an address before apromiscuous audience.
She did not consider it quite womanly."
But for the life of me could not see that it was
any more public to make speech than to march
around largest hail. dressed in old style, before
almost our whole town, US we did at the centennial
party, and Mrs. Gray, who was president of the
| Ladies' Centennial Committee, led that herself,
dressed magnifcently as Martha Washington,


Mrs. Lesley would not take part in that ALL She
said it putting our personal charms on exhibit
tion before all sorts of people, and she was doubt
full of its prOpriey. l, you see, am not so partic


ular as either of them. 1 am always glad and
proud to have Mrs. Lesley to make speech, and


enjoyed the centennial tea party to the last degree.
! went as Priscilla, and John said looked the
sweetest of any woman there, if l wasn't so dash
| ing and elegant as Mrs. Gray. But shall never
| get this story TOLD,


We had sold of nearly everything at nine O'Clock
We made an auction with the leavings, and they
got my John, who is just as witty he can be, to
| sell, and he made a world of fun.


At $3.50, Mr.. Lesley, who is president of the
mems society of which ours is auxiliary, led his
wife up to her seat on the stage. Of course, we
had made the platform lovely with Towering
plants and bouquets. Then had some long,
tiresome speeches from the men, full of cOmpl-
ments our energy and management. was sick
| of II before they stopped, For, if am not very
| wise, know when Ryhody praises ma just for the
sake of what they are going to get


| Well, finally Mrs. Lesley's turn came. She step
ped forward gracefully, and stood at the front Of
| the platform; she must have looked like pink
between those high green leaf-plants. She is not
| handsome like her sister-in-aw, but she has the
sweetest expression


would give anything to be able to report her
speech word for word But dear mo l might
Just well undertake to paint sunset. L can
only give you an idea of it.


She began "Mr. President"-it was her hus-
band, you know-"it now becomes my duty to
render an account of the efforts of the Ladies'
Auxiliary in behalf of our common and well-be
loved cause and to deliver into your hands the
substantial results of those labors. But, although
the pecuniary gain of this fair if unprecedented p
our town, and the sum Of money aIi commission
ed to present to you is larger than l had ever
dreamed it could be, discharged this crowning
obligation of my official position with shame and
distress"


could hardly believe my ears ! glanced over
to Mrs. Gray, and 1 never saw such look of as
tonishment as there was in her face.


Mrs. Lesley went on, her voice getting full of
tears, though her eyes were as dry and bright as
diamonds. She said-in substance, you know, as
the reporters say-that the cause of her shame and
distress was conviction that our fair had been a
positive injury to the morals Of our town, She
said it had trained young modest girls in bold i'm
pOrtunity of men whom they had never met be-
fore it had cultivated in young men that love of
games and chance which was filing our gambling
saloons with the very flower of our youth. She
said, too, that she was convinced that she and her
co-aborers had been treating the regular trades
people unfairly. She had overheard one night
conversation between two youngmen who had start
ed in the fancy goods business within the last five
years. They had spoken together of the terribly
hard times which had threatened them with ruin
all the past months, and of how much they had
depended on the holiday trade to keSp their heads
above water this winter, Apd now, they said,
these WomsR who live In elegant leisure-Q whis-
pered to John: "That don't apply to the treasur-
er of the society, goodness knows !"-these women
who don't know the value of money any more than
children, had gotten up this grand fair. They
had, the young men said, begged quantities of
goods outright of all dealers, and had got quanti
ties of more at wholesale price, and then sold their
splendid and varied assortment below what any
retail dealer in the town could afford. "0f course"
these young merchants said, bitterly, eve cannot
compete with fascinating, brilliant women and be-
witching young ladies, who give their services and
sell lower than we can import. The consequence
of this fair is that the holiday trade counted
for food and clothing for families and for bus
iness security is gone out of sight


"My friends" said Mrs. Lesley, "aS president
of the association, and hence responsible, beg
your pardon for the injustice We hava shown you.
i was thonghtelspeSs; put am humiliated that
on9 Of mature years should be forced to plead a
ohild's excuse"


Then she went on to say that although it would
seem at first sight that no such objection should
be raised against the sale of articles made by the
ladies themselves, there was one similar and near
ly as strong. She said she knew two three wo-
men whose livelihood was gained by the manufac-
ture and sale of fancy trihes. "If,' she went on
eve sold our goods for prices they could make
fair profit on we should have right to compete
with them. But we beg the materials from our
husbands, give our own work, and then pndsrsell
every one in the trade wha dass pof have our inn
mense advantages t9 start With"


Thea shs spoke Of the time and strength We wo-
men had put into this fair how some of us had
injured OUR health, and seriously defrauded our
homes of what was due from wives and mothers.
My conscience smOte me at that for 1 couldn't
help thinking how hadn't read aloud to John for
three months and had pushed Johnny one side
till he was getting to be real troublesome, and 70
talk just like my girl. set there with every bope
aching and every nerve trembling with weariness,
and knPw that had almost if not quite, untitled
myself for my winters work for my dear ones by
my labor for this fair.


Well, l can't tell you what she said but never
heard such an elegant speech, one so simple, and
sad and truthful. Her husband never took his
eyes from her face. He could see her profile from
where he sat.


Before she closed she said that all this overwork
on the part of us women all this unfair competi-
tion with the regular trade; all this gambling;
all this unwomanly boldness of appeal; all these
questionable ways of getting money from people
who would never contribute to our CAUSE of their
own free will-all were justified and SVeGn praised
on the ground Of our objsct bSihg good one. It
was that saphisEfy which had beguiled US.


isBut" she said--I remember the very words
she closed with-"I acknowledge, with shame un-
speakable, the utter folly OF such Justification
Qan we do clean work with unclean hands Can
We benefit virtue by the same process which tears
II down? Can we get grand result from despiea-
BILE ways and means? Oh, my sister women, who
are so ready ospend and be spent for each others
good, let us leave to mon the max::ms of worldly
WI wise policy and selfish On1passing of good ends
we VINO nave had motherhood to teach us that
tue nIn.e duties and constant spirit are of nors
Importance than noisy deeds or OCCASIONAL exploits
ives should know better. behave shat tits ofgreat
er moment to society that each human being keep
his or her separate channels Of influence pure and
Hohle all the time, than any great cause be aided
Better every benevolent public enterprise be re-
tarded in its external growth for lack of money
till our children take our places then that We de-
fraud those children of a soul inheritaAes Of faith
fulness to justice and hopor IN daily life.