oman belonging to this
Club, a Club which stands high in the Club life of the State, should
have something better to do than to spend the night at her window spying
on her neighbors. If she cannot sleep she can improve her mind or sew
for the poor. If a man engaged in such nefarious night work and brazenly
admitted it, I will venture to say that his Club, or his Lodge, at all
events, would ask for his resignation. It would be quite in order with
our avowed principles that we reprimanded Mrs. Haight instead of Miss
Otis, but we will let the matter pass this time with a mere hint. One
point is, by-the-way, that the latter not being a member of the Club it
would be the height of impertinence to take her to task. But in any case
I personally refuse even to consider the question of anything being
otherwise with her than it should be. There is, no doubt, some wholly
commonplace explanation of Mr. Gwynne's passing through Rosewater on her
horse this morning. As for their constant companionship, what more
natural? They are closely related, and she has been a very necessary
sister to him. Nevertheless, I shall make it my unpleasant business to
tell her that we are still the same old females, still incapable of
conceiving of aught but one relationship between unmarried members of
opposite sexes, that our imaginations and our positive knowledge of life
are alike undeveloped. Then she can take a chaperon or not as she
pleases. She will always be welcome in my house; and as for my daughter,
she will only laugh at this tempest of her elders in a tea-pot. That is
all I have to say."

She finished amid much applause, some shamefaced, some hearty, but there
were a number of lowering brows. When adjournment was declared a few
moments later, she left at once, but the others remained to talk the
matter over. The ingrained love of finding our sister worse than
ourselves is not to be eradicated by a few years of Club life, and
although the majority decided that Mrs. Leslie was quite in the right,
several announced their intention to cut Isabel Otis. There was no
informal resolution taken to ignore the matter, and, on the whole, Mrs.
Haight went home with her crest up, and Mrs. Wheaton fasted for three
days.

XXIX

Mrs. Leslie was a brave woman, but when the judge suggested that it
would be better for him to talk the matter over with Gwynne, obtain his
explanation, and delicately hint the attitude of the town, she was
nothing loat