I don't play on the piano." It so happened that Mr.Mitchell held the property of the "monthly meeting" in his hands at the time, and it was a very improper thing for the accredited agent of the society to be "under dealings," as Mr.
Mitchell gently suggested.
This the Friend had not thought of, and so he said, "Well, William, perhaps we'd better say no more about it." When the father came home after this interview he could not keep it to himself.

If it had been the mother who was interviewed she would have kept it a profound secret,--because she would not have liked to have her children get any fun out of the proceedings of the old Friend.

But Mr.
Mitchell told the story in his quiet way, the daughters enjoyed it, and declared that the piano was placed upon a firm foothold by this proceeding.

The news spread abroad, and several other young Quaker girls eagerly seized the occasion to gratify their musical longings in the same direction.

[Footnote: It is pleasant to note that this objection to music among Friends is a thing of the past, and that the Friends' School at Providence, R.I., which is under the control of the "New England Yearly Meeting of Friends," has music in its regular curriculum.] Few women with scientific tastes had the advantages which surrounded Miss Mitchell in her own home.