— XI —MYSTIFICATIONS
After one or two postponements, Mrs. Staniland’s projected esoteric evening was actually about to come off. She had often exerted herself before for the benefit of struggling geniuses, to whom she had been of real assistance. Ill-natured people were apt to compare her benevolence to that of the fabled snark, which collects though it does not subscribe,” and it was perhaps true that her heart opened more readily than her purse. After all, money is not the only or the most valuable contribution in all cases, and even of money Mrs. Staniland could be liberal when she saw occasion.
But it was quite a new sensation to her to figure as the protectress of a rising faith, which might with a little timely assistance regenerate society, and she received her friends with deep s
