It was a community habit of long standing to see the train come in and go after the mail.

The facts that the train bore no passengers in whom you were intimately interested, and that you expected no mail made little difference.

If you were a man of thirty or older, you went to the depot or the "club," just as your wife or sisters went to the sewing circle, for sociability and mild excitement.

If you were a single young man you went to the post office for the same reason that you attended prayer meeting.

If you were a single young lady you went to the post office and prayer meeting to furnish a reason for the young man.
Mr.Phinney, replacing his watch in his pocket, meandered to the sidewalk and looked down the hill and along the length of the "Shore Road." Beside the latter highway stood a little house, painted a spotless white, its window blinds a vivid green.