inkstand before her, chiefly as insignia
of office, for she always wrote with a small, stiff metal pen.

Flora here threw in a query, whether the National Society, or
Government, or something, would give them a grant, unless they had the
land to build upon?

The ladies all started off hereupon, and all sorts of instances of
hardness of heart were mentioned, the most relevant of which was, that
the Church Building Society would not give a grant to Mr. Holloway's
proprietary chapel at Whitford, when Mrs. Ledwich was suddenly struck
with the notion that dear Mr. Holloway might be prevailed on to come
to Stoneborough to preach a sermon in the Minster, for the benefit of
Cocksmoor, when they would all hold plates at the door. Flora gave Ethel
a tranquillising pat, and, as Mrs. Ledwich turned to her, asking whether
she thought Dr. May, or Dr. Hoxton, would prevail on him to come, she
said, with her winning look, "I think that consideration had better wait
till we have some more definite view. Had we not better turn to this
land question?"

"Quite true!" they all agreed, but to whom did the land belong?--and
what a chorus arose! Miss Anderson thought it belonged to Mr. Nicolson,
because the wagons of slate had James Nicolson on them, and, if so, they
had no chance, for he was an old miser--and six stories illustrative
thereof ensued. Miss Rich was quite sure some Body held it, and
Bodies were slow of movement. Mrs. Ledwich remembered some question of
enclosing, and thought all waste lands were under the Crown; she knew
that the Stoneborough people once had a right to pasture their cattle,
because Mr. Southron's cow had tumbled down a loam-pit when her mother
was a girl. No, that was on Far-view down, out the other way! Miss
Harrison was positive that Sir Henry Walkinghame had some right there,
and would not Dr. May apply to him? Mrs. Grey thought it ought to
be part of the Drydale estate, and Miss Boulder was certain that Mr.
Bramshaw knew all about it.

Flora's gentle voice carried conviction that she knew what she was
saying, when, at last, they left a moment for her to speak--(Ethel would
have done so long ago). "If I am not mistaken, the land is a copyhold of
Sir Henry Walkinghame, held under the manor of Drydale, which belongs to
M---- College, and is underlet to Mr. Nicolson."

Everybody, being partially right, was delighted, and had known it all
before; Miss Boulder agreed with Miss Anderson that Miss May had state