The Morning Glory ClubKyle, George A. (George Alexander)
General
The Morning Glory Club
Kyle, George A. (George Alexander)
New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Villages -- Fiction; Women -- Societies and clubs -- Fiction
"Fanny," she said, "we are trying to find a name for our club; please
save your stories for another time. Mrs. Stout, have you any suitable
name in mind?"
"How would 'The Manville Woman's Club' do?" replied Mrs. Stout.
"Very good," said Mrs. Tweedie, "only I am prejudiced in regard to the
name of our town; it is so suggestive of the _other sex_."
"Well," replied Mrs. Stout, "we've all tried, now what do you think we
ought to call ourselves, Mis' Tweedie?"
"I have considered the matter with care," replied Mrs. Tweedie. "Many
names have come into my mind, but for one reason or another, all
excepting one were rejected. The one that appeals to me as being the
most appropriate and beautifully poetic is 'The Morning Glory Club.'"
"Beautiful," murmured the ladies, excepting Mrs. Stout, who laughed
until her fat body shook.
"Excuse _me_," she said, as soon as she could control her mirth. "It's
an awful pretty name, but what a beautiful bunch of morning glories us
old women will make." If the ladies had been profane what opportunities
Mrs. Stout had given them. She continued to laugh, however, despite
their frowns.
"Madam President," said Miss Sawyer, when Mrs. Stout's laughter had
subsided to a gurgling chuckle. "The name that you have suggested is
admirable. The only question in my mind is concerning the word 'club.'
Is 'club' more appropriate than association, or some other word?"
"You might say congregation," replied Mrs. Stout, "or aggregation."
"Club," replied Mrs. Tweedie, "is the term generally used, I believe,
to--"
"What difference does it make, anyway?" Mrs. Stout interrupted. "We'll
never get anything done if we don't 'tend to business better'n we have.
We've done about as much in two hours as the men would have done in ten
minutes."
"Indeed," retorted Mrs. Tweedie, "but would they have done it as well?"
She asked the question in tones approaching anger. (Blue blood boils at
180° F.)
"Better," snapped Mrs. Stout, who was fast losing patience.
"And why?" pressed Mrs. Tweedie, determined this time to utterly squelch
Mrs. Stout if such a thing were possible.
"Because," replied Mrs. Stout, "they wouldn't have talked about
everything under the sun while they was doin' it."
"No, my dear Mrs. Stout" (Mrs. Tweedie knew the irony of "my dear"
perfectly), "it would be because the _other sex_ are more experienced
than woman. And they are more experienced because for centuries it has
been their exclusive right to organize and govern. In the meantime, we
women have been kept under foot and in darkness."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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