Bible it
would surely have reminded her of the foolish listener who said, while
he trembled under the truth, "_Almost_ thou persuadest me to be a
Christian."

Shall I tell you what came in, just then and there, to influence her
decision? It was such a miserable little thing--nothing more than the
remembrance of certain private parties that were a standing institution
among "their set" at home, to meet fortnightly in each other's parlors
for a social dance. Not a ball! oh, no, not at all. These young ladies
did not attend _balls_, unless occasionally a charity ball, when a very
select party was made up. Simply quiet evenings among _special_ friends,
where the special amusement was dancing.

"Dear me!" you say, "I am a Christian, and I don't see anything wrong in
_dancing_. Why, I dance at private parties very often. What was there in
that thought that needed to influence her?"

Oh, well, we are not arguing, you know. This is simply a record of
matters and things as they occurred at Chautauqua. It can hardly be said
to be a story, except as records of real lives of course make stories.

But Eurie was _not_ a Christian, you see; and however foolish it may
have been in her she had picked out dancing as one of the amusements not
fitting to a Christian profession. It is a queer fact, for the cause of
which I do not pretend to account, but if you are curious, and will
investigate this subject, you will find that four fifths of the people
in this world who are not Christiana have tacitly agreed among
themselves that dancing is not an amusement that seems entirely suited
to church-members. If you want to get at the reason for this strange
prejudice, question some of them. Meantime the fact exists that Eurie
felt herself utterly unwilling to give up the leadership of those
fortnightly parties, and that the trivial question actually came in then
and there, while she stood looking at that picture of the cross; and in
proportion as her sudden conviction of desire lost itself in this whirl
of intended amusement did her disgust arise at the thought that she had
been actually betrayed into listening to another sermon!

CHAPTER XXVI.

"THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM."

Marion went alone to the services the next morning. It was in vain that
she assured Eurie that Miss Morris was going to conduct one of the
normal classes, and that she had heard her spoken of as unusually
sparkling. Eurie shook her head.

"Go and hear her s