as most of mrs. cliff's business in new york was now finished, and as she and willy were waiting there only for the yacht to be made ready for sea, she had a good deal of time on her hands.
on the saturday following her decision to make a trial trip on the summer shelter, when returning from the daily visit to the yacht, mrs. cliff stopped in at a brooklyn church in which a synod was at that time convened. she had read of the proceedings of this body in the papers, and, as the deliberations concerned her own denomination, she thought she would be interested in them. willy, however, preferred to go on by herself to new york, as she had something to do there which she thought would be more to her taste than the proceedings of a synod.
it was not long after she had been seated in the church that mrs. cliff began to regret that she had not attended some of the earlier meetings, for the questions debated were those in which she took an interest.
after a time she saw near her mrs. arkwright, a lady who had visited mrs. perley some years before, and with whom she had then become acquainted. joining her, mrs. cliff found mrs. arkwright able to give her a great deal of information in regard to the members of the synod, and as the two sat and talked together in whispers, a desire arose in the mind of mrs. cliff that she and[pg 170] her wealth might in some way join in the work in which all these people were engaged. as her mind rested upon this subject, there came into it a plan which pleased her. here were all these delegates, many of them looking tired and pale, as if they had been hard-worked during the winter, and here was she, the mistress of the summer shelter, about to take a trip to warm and sunny regions with an almost empty vessel.
mrs. cliff's invitation was discussed with lively appreciation mrs. cliff's invitation was discussed with lively appreciation
as soon as the meeting adjourned, mrs. cliff, accompanied by mrs. arkwright, made her way to the front, where many of the members were standing together, and was introduced by her friend to several clergymen with whom mrs. arkwright was acquainted. as soon as possible mrs. cliff referred to the subject which was upon her mind, and informed the gentlemen with whom she had just been made acquainted, that if they thought well of it she would like to invite a party of such of the delegates who would care for such an excursion at this season, to accompany her on a short trip to the west indies. her vessel would easily accommodate twelve or fifteen of the gentlemen, and she would prefer to offer her invitation first to the clerical members of the synod.
the reverend gentlemen to whom this offer was made were a little surprised by it, but they could not help considering it was a most generous and attractive proposition, and one of them undertook to convey the invitation to some of his brethren of the synod.
although the synod had adjourned, many of the delegates remained for a considerable time, during which mrs. cliff's invitation was discussed with lively appreci[pg 171]ation, some of the speakers informing her that if they could make the arrangements necessary for their pulpits and their families during a short absence, they would be delighted to accept her invitation. the synod would finally adjourn on the next tuesday, and she was promised that before that time she would be informed of the exact number of guests she might expect.
the next morning when mr. burke appeared to accompany the ladies to the yacht, he found willy croup alone in their parlor.
"do you know what's happened?" cried willy, springing towards him as he entered. "of course you don't, for mrs. cliff is going to give the first country week on the summer shelter to a synod!"
"to a what?" cried burke.
"a synod," explained willy. "it's a congregation, i mean a meeting, mostly of ministers, come together to settle church matters. she invited the whole lot of them, but of course they all can't come,—for there are more than a hundred of them,—but there will be about a dozen who can sail with us next wednesday!"
mr. burke's jaw dropped. "a dozen ministers!" he exclaimed. "sail with us! by george! miss croup, will you excuse me if i sit down?"
"you know," said willy, "that the summer shelter was bought for this sort of thing! that is, to do good to people who can't get that sort of good in other ways! and if mrs. cliff takes out poor children from the slums, and hard-working shopgirls, and seamstresses, why[pg 172] shouldn't she take hard-working ministers and give them some fresh air and pleasure?"
"a dozen ministers!" groaned mr. burke. "i tell you, miss croup, i can't take them in!"
"oh, there'll be room enough!" said willy, mistaking his meaning, "for mrs. cliff says that each of those little rooms will easily hold two!"
"oh, it isn't that!" said burke, his eyes fixed steadfastly upon a chair near him as if it had been something to look at. "but twelve ministers coming down on me so sudden, rather takes me aback, miss croup!"
"i don't wonder," said willy, "for i don't believe that a synod ever went out yachting before in a bunch!"
mr. burke rose and looked out of the window. "miss croup," said he, "do you remember what i said about mixin' fun and charity in these cruises? well, i guess we'll have to take our charity straight this time!"
but when mrs. cliff had come in and had talked with animation and enthusiasm in regard to her plan, the effects of the shock which mr. burke had received began to wear off.
"all right, madam!" said he. "you're owner, and i'm captain, and i'll stand by you! and if you take it into your head to ship a dozen popes on the summer shelter, i'll take them where you want them to go to, and i'll bring them back safe. i suppose we'll have all sorts of customers on the yacht this season, and if we've got to get used to queer passengers, a synod will do very well to begin with! if you'll find out who's goin' and[pg 173] will write to them to be on hand tuesday night, i'll see that they're taken care of!"
mrs. cliff's whole heart was now in the projected cruise of the summer shelter. when she had thought of it with only willy and herself as passengers, she could not help considering it was a great extravagance. now she was going to begin her series of sea-trips in a fashion far superior and more dignified than anything yet thought of. to be able to give such an invitation to a synod was something of which she might well be proud, and she was proud.
