To Eleanor, Jane represented the Kimper family, the head of which was the cause of Reynolds Bartram's extraordinary course.
Eleanor blamed Sam for all the discomfort to which she had been subjected on account of Bartram's religious aspirations, and she was inclined to visit upon the new seamstress the blame for all the annoyances from which she had suffered.
Like a great many other girls who are quite affectionate daughters, she neglected to make a confidante of her mother; and Mrs.Prency was therefore very much surprised, on entering the room after a short shopping-tour, to discover the two young women in utter silence, Eleanor looking greatly vexed and the new sewing-woman very much distressed about something.

The older lady endeavored to engage the couple in conversation.

After waiting a little while for the situation to make itself manifest, but getting only very short replies, she left the room and made an excuse to call her daughter after her.
"My dear child, what is the matter?
Doesn't Jane know how to sew ?" "Yes," said Eleanor, "I suppose so; but she knows how to talk, too, and she has done it so industriously and made me feel so uncomfortable that I have not had any opportunity to examine her sewing." "My daughter, what can she have said to annoy you so much ?" "Oh," exclaimed Eleanor, savagely snatching to pieces a bit of delicate silk she held in her hand, "what every one else is talking about.

What does any one in this town have to talk about just now, I wonder, except Reynolds Bartram and the church?
Why is it that they all think it necessary to come and talk to me about it?
I am sure I am not specially interested in church work, and I don't believe any one who has talked to me about it is, but I hear nothing else from morning till night when any visitor comes in.

I was congratulating myself that I had an excuse to-day, so that I need not see any one who might call, but that dreadful girl is worse than all the rest put together.