three
o'clock
It was the afternoon for the regular meeting of the Ladies Sewing Society in the little village of Chicopee , and at the usual hour groups of ladies were seen wending their way towards the stately mansion of Mrs. Campbell , the wealthiest and proudest lady in town . Many , who for months had absented themselves from the society , came this afternoon with the expectation of gaining a look at the costly marble and rosewood furniture with which Mrs. Campbell 's parlors were said to be adorned . But they were disappointed , for Mrs. Campbell had no idea of turning a sewing society into her richly furnished drawing-rooms . The spacious sitting-room , the music-room adjoining , and the wide cool hall beyond , were thrown open to all , and by three o'clock they were nearly filled . At first there was almost perfect silence , broken only by a whisper or under tone , but gradually the restraint wore way , and the woman near the door , who had come `` because she was a mind to , but did n't expect to be noticed any way , '' and who , every time she was addressed , gave a nervous hitch backward with her chair , had finally hitched herself into the hall , where with unbending back and pursed up lips she sat , highly indignant at the ill-concealed mirth of the young girls , who on the stairs were watching her retrograde movements . The hum of voices increased , until at last there was a great deal more talking than working . The Unitarian minister 's bride , Lilly Martin 's stepmother , the new clerk at Drury 's , Dr. Lay 's wife 's new hat and its probable cost , and the city boarders at the hotel , were all duly discussed , and then for a time there was again silence while Mrs. Johnson , president of the society , told of the extreme destitution in which she had that morning found a poor English family , who had moved into the village two or three years before .