But when he looked at Aunt Matilda's immaculate--horribly immaculate--housekeeping, his heart failed him, and he would have said nothing had she not inadvertently opened the door herself.
"How did you get here so early, Ralph ?" and Aunt Matilda's face was shadowed with a coming rebuke.
"By early rising," said Ralph.

But, seeing the gathering frown on his aunt's brow, he hastened to tell the story of Shocky as well as he could.

Mrs.White did not give way to any impulse toward sympathy until she learned that Shocky was safely housed with Miss Nancy Sawyer.
"Yes, Sister Sawyer has no family cares," she said by way of smoothing her slightly ruffled complacency, "she has no family cares, and she can do those things.

Sometimes I think she lets people impose on her and keep her away from the means of grace, and I spoke to our new preacher about it the last time he was here, and asked him to speak to Sister Sawyer about staying away from the ordinances to wait on everybody, but he is a queer man, and he only said that he supposed Sister Sawyer neglected the inferior ordinances that she might attend to higher ones.
But I don't see any sense in a minister of the gospel calling prayer-meeting a lower ordinance than feeding catnip-tea to Mrs.Brown's last baby.

But hasn't this little boy--Shocking, or what do you call him ?--got any mother ?" "Yes," said Ralph, "and that was just what I was going to say." And he proceeded to tell how anxious Shocky was to see his half-blind mother, and actually ventured to wind up his remarks by suggesting that Shocky's mother be invited to stay over Sunday in Aunt Matilda's house.
"Bless my stars!" said that astounded saint, "fetch a pauper here?
What crazy notions you have got! Fetch her here out of the poor-house?
Why, she wouldn't be fit to sleep in my--" here Aunt Matilda choked.