Divers Women | Page 5

invited Dr. Selmser down to dinner," remarked Mrs. Harrison, as she
sipped her coffee. "I thought since his wife was gone, it would be only
common courtesy to invite him in to get a warm dinner, but he declined;
he said his Sunday dinners were always very simple."
Be it known to you that Dr. Selmser was Mrs. Harrison's pastor, and the

preacher of the morning sermon.
Miss Lily arched her handsome eyebrows.
"Oh, mamma!" she said, "how could you be guilty of such a sin! The
idea of Dr. Selmser going out to dinner on Sunday! I wonder he did not
drop down in a faint! Papa, did you ever hear such a sermon?"
"It slashed right and left, that is a fact," said Mr. Harrison, between the
mouthfuls of chicken salad and oyster pickle.
"A little too sweeping in its scope to be wise for one in his position.
Have another piece of the turkey, James? He is running into that style a
little too much. Some person whose opinion has weight ought to warn
him. A minister loses influence pretty rapidly who meddles with
everything."
"Well, there was everything in that sermon," said Miss Cecilia. "I just
trembled in my shoes at one time. I expected our last escapade in the
school hall would be produced to point one of his morals."
"You admit that it would have pointed it?" said the cousin Jim, with a
meaning laugh.
"Oh, yes; it was awfully wicked; I'll admit that. But one didn't care to
hear it rehearsed in a church."
"That is the trouble," mamma Harrison said. "Little nonsenses that do
very well among schoolgirls, or in the way of a frolic, are not suited to
illustrate a sermon with. I think Dr. Selmser is rather apt to forget the
dignity of the pulpit in his illustrations."
"Lorena says he utterly spoiled the closing anthem by that doleful
hymn he gave out," said Miss Lily. "They were going to give that
exquisite bit from the last sacred opera, but the organist positively
refused to play it after such woe-begone music. I wish we had a new
hymn-book, without any of those horrid, old-fashioned hymns in it,
anyhow."

It was Mr. Harvey Latimer's turn to speak:
"Oh, well now, say what you please, Selmser can preach. He may not
suit one's taste always, Especially when you get hit; but he has a
tremendous way of putting things. Old Professor Marker says he has
more power over language than any preacher in the city."
"Yes," said Mr. Harrison, struggling with too large a mouthful of
turkey, "he is a preacher, whatever else may be said about him; and yet
of course it is unfortunate for a minister to be always pitching into
people; they get tired of it after a while."
"Jim, did you know that Mrs. Jamison was going to give a reception to
the bride next Wednesday evening?" This from Lily.
"No; is she? That will be a grand crush, I suppose."
"I heard her giving informal invitations in church to-day," Helen said,
and one of the schoolgirls said:
"Oh, don't you think she said she was going to invite us? Celia told her
to send the invitation to you, Mrs. Harrison. We felt sure you would ask
us to your house to spend the evening; Madam Wilcox will always
allow that. But there is no use trying to get her permission for a party.
You will ask us, won't you?"
Whereupon Mrs. Harrison laughed, and shook her head at them, and
told them she was afraid they were naughty girls, and she would have
to think about it. All of which seemed to be entirely satisfactory to
them. The conversation suddenly changed.
"Wasn't Mrs. Marsh dressed in horrid taste today?" said Helen Harrison.
"Really I don't see the use in being worth a million in her own right, if
she has no better taste than that to display. Her camels'-hair shawl is
positively the ugliest thing I ever saw, and she had it folded horribly.
She is round-shouldered, anyhow--ought never to wear a shawl."
"I think her shawl was better than her hat," chimed in Miss Lily. "The

idea of that hat costing fifty dollars! It isn't as becoming as her old one;
and, to make it look worse than it would have done, she had her hair
arranged in that frightful new twist!"
"Why, Lily Harrison! I heard you tell her you thought her hat was
lovely!" This from Lily's youngest sister.
"Oh, yes, of course," said Miss Lily. "One must say something to
people. It wouldn't do to tell her she looked horrid." And the mother
laughed.
"It is a good thing for Mrs. Marsh that she holds her million in her own
right," observed cousin Jim. "That husband