ing
stays and shoes, and loud breaths down the visitors' necks as she thrust
vegetable dishes and sauce-boats at perilous angles over their
shoulders.

Ellen provided a piquant contrast to her surroundings. As she sat there
in her soft grey dress, with her eyes cast down under her little town
hat, with her quiet voice, and languid, noiseless movements, anything
more unlike the average farmer's wife of the district was difficult to
imagine. Joanna felt annoyed with her for dressing up all quiet as a
water-hen, but she could see that, in spite of it, her sacrifice in
having her party transferred from the glamorous evening hour had been
justified. Both the Old Squire and his sister were obviously interested
in Ellen Alce--he in the naive unguarded way of the male, she more
subtly and not without a dash of patronage.

Mrs. Williams always took an interest in any woman she thought
downtrodden, as her intuition told her Ellen was by that coarse, hairy
creature, Arthur Alce. She herself had disposed of an unsatisfactory
husband with great decision and resource, and, perhaps as a
thank-offering, had devoted the rest of her life to woman's
emancipation. She travelled about the country lecturing for a
well-known suffrage society, and was bitterly disappointed in Joanna
Godden because she expressed herself quite satisfied without the vote.

"But don't you feel it humiliating to see your carter and your cowman
and your shepherd boy all go up to Rye to vote on polling-day, while
you, who own this farm, and have such a stake in the country, aren't
allowed to do so?"

"It only means as I've got eight votes instead of one," said Joanna,
"and don't have the trouble of going to the poll, neither. Not one of my
men would dare vote but as I told him, so reckon I do better than most
at the elections."

Mrs. Williams told Joanna that it was such opinions which were keeping
back the country from some goal unspecified.

"Besides, you have to think of other women, Miss Godden--other women who
aren't so fortunate and independent as yourself."

She gave a long glance at Ellen, whose downcast eyelids flickered.

"I don't care about other women," said Joanna, "if they won't stand up
for themselves, I can't help them. It's easy enough to stand up to a
man. I don't think much of men, neither. I like 'em, but I can't think
any shakes of their doings. That's why I'd sooner they did their own
voting and mine too. Now, Mene Tekel, can't you see