She took his arm, and the two fluttered off into the crowd, which was pouring off into a large room beyond the one we were in. "The meeting is going to commence now in good earnest," I thought. "I'll try and get a seat where I can hear." Cousin Dempster and E. E. came up, and I joined in. The lecture-room was long, and lighted up beautifully. Right in front of the door was the singers' gallery, hung round with red cloth, and over that hung great wreaths of flowers, but I saw neither pulpit nor reading-desk. "Where will the minister be?" I whispered to Cousin Dempster. "Oh, he will open the ball." "Open the ball! What _do_ you mean?" says I. "A minister dancing! I won't believe it." "Why, they all do," says he, innocent as a lamb. "No better dancers in Washington." Sisters, what _do_ you think of that? Was I to blame when I insisted on leaving that house at once? Would you have had me sit by and witness this degradation? "No," says I to Cousin Dempster, "I won't stay. If ministers of the Gospel will do such things, I, as a New England woman--girl I mean--would be committing a sin to look on." "But you do not understand. They are Foreign Ministers, sent here by other nations, which they represent." "So much the worse--how dare they set such examples?" says I. "Ambassadors! can't you understand?" "Of course I understand. All ministers are ambassadors from the Lord; but I never heard of their dancing, except that Shaking Quakers do now and then, which is a part of their religion, and they are only elders, anyhow." "But there is no religion in these things!" "I should rather think not," says I, a-walking resolutely toward the door. "Now it's of no use explaining and apologizing to me. Dancing ministers ain't of my sort. I'm going right straight home." Sisters, I went. LVI. GOOD CLOTHES. Dear sisters:--I told you in my last Report that there were three or four invitations that I had made up my mind to accept, for I have got so now, that it is my privilege to pick and choose who I will honor and who I will not. Well, the person I distinguished this time was just one of the handsomest and nicest ladies that you ever sot eyes on. Everybody that knows her says that. No bird pluming itself on an apple-tree limb full of blossoms was ever more graceful; no church member could be more kind-hearted. She is just a sumptuous young woman who worshipped a true-hearted, high-minded father with all her might and honored him in all her acts. It is a great pity she wasn't born in Vermont, but that cannot be helped now. I wish it could.