New England Alliance was well known. But not until she picked up the folder did Reba know exactly what its work was. It was located in Boston, and offered social advantages, and opportunities for mental improvement, to women living away from home. It endeavored to fill the place of that home—provided pleasant shelter, wholesome food, social attractions. It was a kind of working girls' or business-women's club, with an initiation fee of one dollar, and yearly dues of fifty cents. It wasn't limited to working women. Any girl or woman could join.
Reba leaned her broom in a corner of the room and sat down with her bit of paper, on the edge of a chair, and read more.
There were evening classes, it seemed, offered by the Alliance to its members for a small fee, in millinery, manicuring and nursing; in current events and history; in swimming and gymnastics; in etiquette and dancing. There were weekly talks on recent fiction, the theatre and music. Every Saturday evening there was a home entertainment in the parlors of the Alliance's headquarters, to promote friendliness among the members. Every Sunday there were prayer-meetings and Bible classes.
Reba had never been to Boston unaccompanied. She had never spent a night away from Ridgefield without one of her aunts. But it flashed across her that they might trust her for a little while to the care of an organization sanctioned by her father's support. What if they should grant her their permission? What if she had only to ask? Lessons in swimming and gymnastics! Lessons in etiquette and dancing! Every Saturday an entertainment to promote friendliness!
