ahead of you in the way of elegance.

Mrs. Chapman no longer condescended to prepare the sausage meat and
pumpkin pies; in a word, to do the work of her own kitchen. She could
afford, she said, to keep two "helps," a cook and a chambermaid, to take
it easy and put on the lady, and to give evening parties that quite
outdid in the way of nice little suppers anything their neighbors could
give. There was, however, a number of people in Nyack who shook their
heads at the pretensions of the Chapmans; said they were putting on too
many airs, and made no response to Mrs. Chapman's invitations. Others,
when a little scandal was necessary to keep up the interest of an
evening, would insinuate that they had "originally" been very common and
vulgar people. But now, like most New England people of that class, they
were not only trying to force their opinions down other and honester
people's throats, but had a way of meddling with business that did'nt
concern them, and making themselves disagreeable generally. When
Holbrook disappeared in disgrace, there were persons malicious enough to
say that the Chapmans had better mend their own morals before they went
to patching other people's up.

Mrs. Chapman could dress of an evening in silk, wear kid gloves that
came from France, and had plenty of real French lace on her caps. Few
persons in Nyack at that day could do such things and pass for honest
people.

"My dear," said Mrs. Chapman, addressing herself to her small, but
intellectually great, Mr. Chapman; "my dear." She paused for a moment,
as her face assumed an air of seriousness. "We must turn our backs
entirely on Dogtown. Dogtown won't do to elevate the family on. We never
can rise in the world with Dogtown on our shoulders. And if we would