me were, 'Hev a peppermint, miss! Dew now-fine thing for carARRH,
peppermints,' and, 'Powerful lot o' jump-grasses round here ternight.
Yep.'

"But there is a love affair going on here. It seems to be my fortune to
be mixed up, more or less actively, with elderly love affairs. Mr. and
Mrs. Irving always say that I brought about their marriage. Mrs. Stephen
Clark of Carmody persists in being most grateful to me for a suggestion
which somebody else would probably have made if I hadn't. I do really
think, though, that Ludovic Speed would never have got any further along
than placid courtship if I had not helped him and Theodora Dix out.

"In the present affair I am only a passive spectator. I've tried once
to help things along and made an awful mess of it. So I shall not meddle
again. I'll tell you all about it when we meet."

Chapter XXXII

Tea with Mrs. Douglas

On the first Thursday night of Anne's sojourn in Valley Road Janet asked
her to go to prayer-meeting. Janet blossomed out like a rose to attend
that prayer-meeting. She wore a pale-blue, pansy-sprinkled muslin dress
with more ruffles than one would ever have supposed economical Janet
could be guilty of, and a white leghorn hat with pink roses and three
ostrich feathers on it. Anne felt quite amazed. Later on, she found out
Janet's motive in so arraying herself--a motive as old as Eden.

Valley Road prayer-meetings seemed to be essentially feminine. There
were thirty-two women present, two half-grown boys, and one solitary
man, beside the minister. Anne found herself studying this man. He was
not handsome or young or graceful; he had remarkably long legs--so
long that he had to keep them coiled up under his chair to dispose of
them--and he was stoop-shouldered. His hands were big, his hair wanted
barbering, and his moustache was unkempt. But Anne thought she liked his
face; it was kind and honest and tender; there was something else in it,
too--just what, Anne found it hard to define. She finally concluded that
this man had suffered and been strong, and it had been made manifest
in his face. There was a sort of patient, humorous endurance in his
expression which indicated that he would go to the stake if need be, but
would keep on looking pleasant until he really had to begin squirming.

When prayer-meeting was over this man came up to Janet and said,

"May I see you home, Janet?"

Janet took his arm--"as primly and shyly as if she were no more th