r notions on these subjects, and that not all of them were
equally liberal in regard to the things they collectively disclaimed.
Mr. Ryder was one of the most conservative. Though he had not been
among the founders of the society, but had come in some years later, his
genius for social leadership was such that he had speedily become its
recognized adviser and head, the custodian of its standards, and the
preserver of its traditions. He shaped its social policy, was active in
providing for its entertainment, and when the interest fell off, as
it sometimes did, he fanned the embers until they burst again into a
cheerful flame. There were still other reasons for his popularity. While
he was not as white as some of the Blue Veins, his appearance was such
as to confer distinction upon them. His features were of a refined type,
his hair was almost straight; he was always neatly dressed; his manners
were irreproachable, and his morals above suspicion. He had come to
Groveland a young man, and obtaining employment in the office of a
railroad company as messenger had in time worked himself up to the
position of stationery clerk, having charge of the distribution of
the office supplies for the whole company. Although the lack of early
training had hindered the orderly development of a naturally fine mind,
it had not prevented him from doing a great deal of reading or from
forming decidedly literary tastes. Poetry was his passion. He could
repeat whole pages of the great English poets; and if his pronunciation
was sometimes faulty, his eye, his voice, his gestures, would respond to
the changing sentiment with a precision that revealed a poetic soul, and
disarm criticism. He was economical, and had saved money; he owned and
occupied a very comfortable house on a respectable street. His residence
was handsomely furnished, containing among other things a good library,
especially rich in poetry, a piano, and some choice engravings. He
generally shared his house with some young couple, who looked after his
wants and were company for him; for Mr. Ryder was a single man. In the
early days of his connection with the Blue Veins he had been regarded
as quite a catch, and ladies and their mothers had manoeuvred with much
ingenuity to capture him. Not, however, until Mrs. Molly Dixon visited
Groveland had any woman ever made him wish to change his condition to
that of a married man.

Mrs. Dixon had come to Groveland from Washington in the spri