it's only that we ain't
fools enough to believe all the ways people twists it to suit
theirselves; men as talks that way is always the sort would be in a
benevolent asylum only for some woman keepin' 'em from it," said
grandma, coming to the rescue. "Cowards always drag in the Bible to
back theirselves up far more than proper people does; and there's
always one thing as strikes me in the Bible, an' that is w'en God was
going to send His son down in human form. He considered a woman fit to
be His mother, but there wasn't a man livin' fit to be His father. I
reckon that's a slap in the face from the Almighty hisself that ought
to make men more carefuller when they try to make little of women."

Even Uncle Jake collapsed before this, and Mrs Bray ceased contention
and veered her talk to gossip.

"Young Walker has been chose by the Opposition League in Noonoon, an'
we're goin' to form a committee at once and work for him. Ada
Grosvenor is goin' to form a society for educating women how to vote."

"Ada Grosvenor!" exclaimed grandma. "I thought she would be too much a
upholder of the men to be the start of anythink like that."

"I don't see how educating one's self how to vote would be making them
a putter down of the men," said Dawn.

"Well, it's much the same thing," said Mrs Bray. "For if a woman
educates herself on anything it will show her that a lot of the men
want puttin' down--a long way down too. You'll see the men will think
it's against 'em, and try to squash her and her society, for they're
always frightened if you begin to learn the least thing you will find
out how you're bein' imposed upon; but they don't care how much you
learn in the direction of wearin' yourself out an' slavin' to save
money for them to spend on themselves."

"Oh, come now," laughed "Dora"; "we're not all so bad as that!"

"Not at your time of life w'en you're after the girls and pretendin'
you're angels to catch 'em; it's after you've got 'em in your power
that things change," said Mrs Bray.

The company was now further enlarged by the arrival of Ernest, soon
followed by a young lady I had not previously met--a tall brown-eyed
girl, with pleasant determination in every line of her well-cut face,
and who proved to be the young lady under discussion--Miss Ada
Grosvenor, daughter of the owner of the farm adjoining Bray's and
Clay's.

Her errand was to invite Dawn to join the society she was promoting.

She explained it was not for