The great chapel question has been decided at last by a _coup d’état_. Cyrus Fennel had promised to give a lot of land; and the deed was made out some time ago, but not signed. At last, growing impatient with what he called the narrowness of Mr. David and a few others, Cyrus declared that he never would sign the deed, unless it was agreed that any person and every person who might feel moved to speak in their meetings should have liberty to do so. Some one suggested to Mr. David that he come up with Cyrus by giving a lot of land himself. This thunder-clap of a suggestion cleared Mr. David’s mental vision sufficiently to enable him to perceive that the minority should not stand out longer against the majority, and that possibly, by entering their protest, they had done all that was required of them. Previous to this, however, a plan was proposed, which elicited a curious little bit of information in regard to the law. The plan was, that the sewing-circle should build and own the chapel. Some one queried whether or not this could be done legally; and, to make sure, Mrs. Hale and Adeline Payne went to Elmbridge one day, and consulted a lawyer. The sewing-circle met here that afternoon; and, on returning from Elmbridge, the two delegates hastened over to announce the result of their mission. The lawyer had assured them, they said, that no company of married women could own a building, or any other property. “Not even a hen-house,” said Adeline. “The lawyer told us, that, if we two should want to set up storekeeping together, we couldn’t own our stock of goods.” This announcement was followed by a dead calm, and the dead calm by a hurricane of exclamations: “Well, I declare!” “Now, if that isn’t a good one!” “What, not when we earned the money to build it?” “Pretty state of things!” “I don’t see why not!” “The ones that made that law better make it over!”[B]