This same evening, in the March snow-storm, Nettie Evans sat in her invalid chair beside the table in her chamber. Nettie had not grown up in appearance; face and figure were slight, her cheeks were pale, her eyes large and luminous; her laugh was as light-hearted as the laugh of any girl in the village; her father often told her that she was the busiest maiden in Bensalem. Her busy times grew out of Mrs. Lane’s secret. Nettie was the member of a society; the Shut-In Society. It was an organized society; it published a magazine monthly: _The Open Window_, with a motto upon its title-page: “The windows of my soul I throw Wide open to the sun.” Since Mrs. Lane had told her about the Society and made her a member she had thrown the windows of her soul wide open to the sun. _And the Lord shut him in_, was the motto of the Society. Nettie had marked the precious words in her Bible with the date of her accident, and another date: the day when she became a member of the Shut-In Society. _The Open Window_ had come in to-night’s mail; Nettie had been counting the hours until mail time, and laughed a joyful little laugh all to herself when she heard her father say to her mother in the hall below: “It’s mail time, and I must go to the office to-night, storm or no storm; Nettie will not sleep a wink unless she has her magazine.” It was her feast every month. The members and associates numbered hundreds and hundreds, Nettie did not know how many; and they were all around the world. Nettie herself had had a letter from the Sandwich Islands: the magazine was sent to a leper colony, but she would never dare to write a letter to such a place. With every fresh magazine she read the object and aim of the Society:— “This Association shall be called the Shut-in Society, and shall consist of Members and Associates. Its object shall be: To relieve the weariness of the sick-room by sending and receiving letters and other tokens of remembrance; to testify to the love and presence of Christ in the hour of suffering and privation; to pray for one another at set times: daily, at the twilight hour, and weekly on Tuesday morning at ten o’clock; to stimulate faith, hope, patience, and courage in fellow-sufferers by the study and presentation of Bible promises. “To be a sufferer, shut in from the outside world, constitutes one a proper candidate for membership in this Society. All members are requested to send with their application, if possible, the name of their pastor or their physician, or of some Associate of the Society, as introduction; and no name should be forwarded for membership until the individual has been consulted and consent obtained. If able, members are expected to pay 50 cents yearly for The Open Window. Any who are unable will please inform the Secretary.