y grove," said
she, "and is ever so pretty. The worst of it is, of course, the trees
won't grow in that sand-hill."

"The worst of it is, if she has taken those trees without leave or
license, as I suspect, Eben Betts will not take it as a joke," said
I; and I was right.

Mr. H. Boardman Jameson had to pay a goodly sum to Eben Betts to hush
the matter up; and the trees soon withered, and were cut up for
firewood for the schoolhouse. People blamed old Jonas Martin somewhat
for his share of this transaction, arguing that he ought not to have
yielded to Mrs. Jameson in such a dishonest transaction, even in the
name of philanthropy; but he defended himself, saying: "It's easy
'nough to talk, but I'd like to see any of ye stand up agin that
woman. When she gits headed, it's either git out from under foot or
git knocked over."

Mrs. Jameson not only strove to establish improvements in our midst,
but she attacked some of our time-honored institutions, one against
which she directed all the force of her benevolent will being our
front doors. Louisa and I had always made free with our front door,
as had some others; but, generally speaking, people in our village
used their front doors only for weddings, funerals, and parties. The
side doors were thought to be good enough for ordinary occasions,
and we never dreamed, when dropping in for a neighborly call, of
approaching any other. Mrs. H. Boardman Jameson resolved to do away
with this state of things, and also with our sacred estimate of the
best parlors, which were scarcely opened from one year's end to the
other, and seemed redolent of past grief and joy, with no dilution by
the every-day occurrences of life. Mrs. Jameson completely ignored
the side door, marched boldly upon the front one, and compelled the
mistress to open it to her resolute knocks. Once inside, she advanced
straight upon the sacred precincts of the best parlor, and seated
herself in the chilly, best rocking-chair with the air of one who
usurps a throne, asking with her manner of sweet authority if the
blinds could not be opened and the sun let in, as it felt damp to
her, and she was very susceptible to dampness. It was told, on good
authority, that in some cases she even threw open the blinds and
windows herself while the person who admitted her was calling other
members of the family.

It was also reported that she had on several occasions marched
straight up to a house which she had no design of ente