Nobody

"La! how stupid you are, Charity," exclaimed her aunt. "Didn't Mrs.

Seelye tell you? – the tree the other church are gettin' up."

"Oh – " said Charity. "Well, you can't hinder 'em, as I see."

"Don't want to hinder 'em! What should we hinder 'em for? But we don'twant 'em to get all our chil'en away; that's what we're lookin' at."

"Do you think they'd go?"

"Mr. Seelye's afraid it'll thin off the school dreadful," said Mr.

Seelye's helpmate.

"They're safe to go," added Mrs. Marx. "Ask children to step in and seefairyland, and why shouldn't they go? I'd go if I was they. All therest of the year it ain't fairyland in Shampuashuh. I'd go fast enough."

"Then I don't see what you are goin' to do about it," said Charity,"but to sit down and count your chickens that are left."

"That's what we came to tell you," said the minister's wife.

"Well, tell," said Charity. "You haven't told yet, only what the otherchurch is going to do."

"Well, we thought the only way was for us to do somethin' too."

"Only not another tree," said Lois. "Not that, for pity's sake."

"Why not?" asked the little minister's wife, with an air of beingsomewhat taken aback. "Why haven't we as good a right to have a tree asthey have?"

"Right, if you like," said Lois; "but right isn't all."

"Go on, and let's hear your wisdom, Lois," said her aunt. "I s'poseyou'll say first, we can't do it."

"We can do it, perhaps," said Lois; "but, aunt Anne, it would make badfeeling."

"That's not our look-out," rejoined Mrs. Marx. "We haven't any badfeeling."

"No, not in the least," added Mrs. Seelye. "We only want to give ourchildren as good a time as the others have. That's right."

"'Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory,'" Mrs. Armadale'svoice was here heard to say.

"Yes, I know, mother, you have old-fashioned ideas," said Mrs. Marx;"but the world ain't as it used to be when you was a girl. Noweverybody's puttin' steam on; and churches and Sunday schools as wellas all the rest. We have organs, and choirs, and concerts, andcelebrations, and fairs, and festivals; and if we don't go with thecrowd, they'll leave us behind, you see."

"I don't believe in it all!" said Mrs. Armadale.

"Well, mother, we've got to take the world as we find it. Now thechildren all through the village are all agog with the story of whatthe yellow church is goin' to do; and if the white church don't dosomethin', they'll all run t'other way – that you may depend on.Children are children."

"I sometimes think the grown folks are children," said the old lady.

"Well, we ought to be children," said Mrs. Seelye; "I am sure we allknow that. But Mr. Seelye thought this was the only thing we could do."

"There comes in the second difficulty, Mrs. Seelye," said Lois. "Wecannot do it."

"I don't see why we cannot. We've as good a place for it, quite."

"I mean, we cannot do it satisfactorily. It will not be the same thing.

We cannot raise the money. Don't it take a good deal?"

"Well, it takes considerable. But I think, if we all try, we can scareit up somehow."

Lois shook her head. "The other church is richer than we are," she said.

"That's a fact," said Charity.

Mrs. Seelye hesitated. "I don't know," she said, – "they have one or tworich men. Mr. Georges – "

"O, and Mr. Flare," cried Madge, "and Buck, and Setterdown; and the

Ropers and the Magnuses."

"Yes," said Mrs. Seelye; "but we have more people, and there's none of'em to call poor. If we get 'em interested – and those we have spoken toare very much taken with the plan – very much; I think it would be agreat disappointment now if we were to stop; and the children have gottalking about it. I think we can do it; and it would be a very goodthing for the whole church, to get 'em interested."

"You can always get people interested in play," said Mrs. Armadale.

"What you want, is to get 'em interested in work."

"There'll be a good deal of work about this, before it's over," saidMrs. Seelye, with a pleased chuckle. "And I think, when they get theirpride up, the money will be coming."

Mrs. Marx made a grimace, but said nothing.

"'When pride cometh, than cometh shame,'" said Mrs. Armadale quietly.

"O yes, some sorts of pride," said the little minister's wife briskly;"but I mean a proper sort. We don't want to let our church go down, andwe don't want to have our Sunday school thinned out; and I can tellyou, where the children go, there the fathers and mothers will begoing, next thing."

"What do you propose to do?" said Lois. "We have not fairly heard yet."

"Well, we thought we'd have some sort of celebration, and give theschool a jolly time somehow. We'd dress up the church handsomely withevergreens; and have it well lighted; and then, we would have aChristmas tree if we could. Or, if we couldn't, then we'd have a realgood hot supper, and give the children presents. But I'm afraid, if wedon't have a tree, they'll all run off to the other church; and I thinkthey're going already, so as to get asked. Mr. Seelye said theattendance was real thin last Sabbath."

There followed an animated discussion of the whole subject, with everypoint brought up again, and again and again. The talkers were, for themost part, Charity and Madge, with the two ladies who had come in; Mrs.Armadale rarely throwing in a word, which always seemed to have adisturbing power; and things were taken up and gone over anew to getrid of the disturbance. Lois sat silent and played with her spoon. Mrs.Barclay and Philip listened with grave amusement.

"Well, I can't sit here all night," said Charity at last, rising frombehind her tea-board. "Madge and Lois, – just jump up and put away thethings, won't you; and hand me up the knives and plates. Don't troubleyourself, Mrs. Barclay. If other folks in the village are as busy as Iam, you'll come short home for your Christmas work, Mrs. Seelye."

"It's the busy people always that help," said the little ladypropitiatingly.

"That's a fact; but I don't see no end o' this to take hold of. Youhain't got the money; and if you had it, you don't know what you want; and if you did know, it ain't in Shampuashuh; and I don't see who is togo to New York or New Haven, shopping for you. And if you had it, whoknows how to fix a Christmas tree? Not a soul in our church."

Mrs. Barclay and her guest withdrew at this point of the discussion.But later, when the visitors were gone, she opened the door of herroom, and said,

"Madge and Lois, can you come in here for a few minutes? It isbusiness."