village swam
below in a mist, and the sad drone of the river rose to meet him like
the echo of Duncan Polite's prayer.

IX

THE PRESIDENT OF THE LADIES' AID SOCIETY

Miss Eliza Cotton took her scissors and roll of dress patterns and
started across the street for a day's sewing at the Hamiltons'. She
liked to sew there, for she was fond of the girls in her queer way, and
there was plenty of life and fun. To-day she was particularly pleased
to go to some place where she could pour out the vials of her wrath
upon the minister for the ridiculous way he had acted in refusing to go
on with the organ scheme. Next to the latest news of the
neighbourhood, Miss Cotton loved what she termed "style." Before Mr.
Egerton's advent the Glenoro Church had been utterly devoid of this
saving quality. Since his arrival, however, matters had improved
rapidly. But now, just when they had got a carpet for the pulpit
stairs and matting for the aisles, and were on the eve of purchasing
the long-talked-of organ, the very prompter and head of all the
enterprise must suddenly declare a complete change of front. To Miss
Cotton the loss of his support was an absolute disaster, as it was to
many others, especially those who had to tramp over many miles of
country to return the money they had been at such pains to collect.
Even Mrs. Fraser was disappointed in the minister's action, for she had
been in hopes that Annie would be the organist, and she sighed long and
deeply over the mutability of the young minister. Such sudden changes
of opinion, she declared, denoted an unstable character, and she feared
he would not have a good influence over the wild and unsettled young
men of Glenoro.

Miss Cotton did not care what characteristics were denoted by the
affair. She only knew that in her opinion Mr. Egerton had behaved
outrageously, and she went over to the Hamiltons' prepared to maintain
the same at the point of her sharp tongue.

"Well, 'Liza," said Mrs. Hamilton, as soon as the dressmaker was
settled in her corner of the wide, breezy kitchen surrounded by billows
of light blue silk, "what do you think o' the minister changing his
mind in such a hurry?"

She did not ask because she was seeking information, for Miss Cotton
had left no one in doubt as to her views on the subject, but only as a
pretext for getting launched upon the all-important subject.

Miss Cotton sniffed indignantly. "Mighty queer, that's all I have to
say.