four o'clock
The poor child looked so anxious and distressed that I was sorry for her . I heard afterward that she had begged her mother not to take the Browning book , saying that she did not believe the ladies would like it ; and Mrs. Jameson had replied that she felt it to be her duty to teach them to like it , and divert their minds from the petty gossip which she had always heard was the distinguishing feature of rural sewing meetings . Mrs. Jameson read and read ; when she had finished the first selection she read another . At half-past four o'clock , Mrs. White , who had been casting distressed glances at me , rose and stole out on tiptoe . I knew why she did so ; Mrs. Bemis ' hired girl next door was baking her biscuits for her that she need not heat her house up , and she had brought them in . I heard the kitchen door open . Presently Mrs. White stole in again and tried to listen politely to the reading , but her expression was so strained to maintain interest that one could see the anxiety underneath .