sided. Dr. Little, as one of its
most influential members, hastened to give his support to his
professional brother, and bitterly denounced these intruders, who sought
to create disturbance by their idle tales. The minister's wife and the
doctor's lady became like sisters in their friendship, and it followed
that the feminine portion of the Garnet family were under a ban that
excluded them from speech or friendly intercourse with any but the
single exception we have before mentioned.

If that had been all, these innocent objects of aversion might have
stood aloof and cared little, in the conscious power of rectitude. At
first they trusted that some new excitement might arise to absorb public
attention, and they be released from their painful position and
disagreeable notoriety. But, with time, their trouble seemed to increase
instead of diminish, and only added to the difficulties of their
situation.

At length old Mr. Garnet rose in righteous wrath. "Wife," he said,
emphatically, "I never had anything to do with a woman's quarrel before.
I did think that after this Prudence Penrose, that has imposed upon the
parson, found we wasn't going to say nothin' about her half-witted
daughter, that she'd take the hint and let us alone; but I see she needs
a lesson. I am sorry, seein' how things has turned out, that I hadn't
interfered before the affair went so far, but it isn't too late now.
There's the minister, and Dr. Little, and Deacon Jones, and a lot more
of them, goin' to hold a meetin' about sueing my little daughter-in-law
for slander, against the character of a woman that never had any to
lose. So I reckon I will have my say on the subject, too." Which he set
about doing directly.

Shortly after the irate old gentleman was seen in close conversation
with the village constable, and after some plotting, that worthy started
with the swiftest team in all Waveland for Ainsworth, the former
residence of both the Garnet family and the minister's lady.

Mrs. Swan was sitting with little baby Garnet on her lap, at her
friend's house, the next evening, when the door burst open and Mr.
Garnet, senior, appeared in a state of excitement, such as he had never
been seen before by the little brown-eyed woman, who looked up with a
startled glance at his unexpected entrance.

"Richie's come," he shouted, waving his hat triumphantly. "I've sent for
her, and here she is. I gave the Constable a commission, and he's been
and brought R