Did a woman ever start out, I wonder, with the spirit of turmoil and
unrest about her, that she did not find helpers? Especially if she be
one of a large congregation she comes in contact with some heedless
ones--some malicious ones--some who are led into mischief by their
undisciplined tongues--some who have personal grievances. And there
are always some people in every community who stand all ready to be
led by the last brain with which they come in contact; or, if not
that, they are sure to think exactly as Dr. Jones and Judge Tinker
and Prof. Bolus do, without reason as to why or wherefore. This class
is very easily managed. A little care, a judicious repetition of a
sentence which fell from the doctor's or the judge's or the
professor's lips, and which might have meant anything or _nothing_,
by the slightest possible changes of emphasis, can be made to mean a
little or a great deal. It wasn't slow work either--not half so slow
as it would have been to attempt the building up of someone's
reputation; by reason of the law of gravitation the natural tendency
is downward, so prevalent in human nature, and by reason of the
intense delight which that wise and wily helper, Satan, has in a
_fuss_ of any sort. Do Mrs. Dr. Matthews the justice of understanding
that she didn't in the least comprehend what she was about; that is,
not the magnitude of it. She only knew that she had been stung,
either by her conscience or else by Dr. Selmser. She chose to think
it was Dr. Selmser, and she felt like repaying him for it. He should
be made to understand that people wouldn't bear everything; that he
must just learn to be a little more careful about what he said and
did. "Take heed what ye do; let the fear of the Lord be upon you."
Yes, _she_ heard the text, and was thinking of her party all the
time. Did she think that certain things which occurred in her