The new minister and his wife were a young, pleasant-faced couple, still
on their honeymoon, and full of all good and beautiful enthusiasms for
their chosen lifework. Avonlea opened its heart to them from the start.
Old and young liked the frank, cheerful young man with his high ideals,
and the bright, gentle little lady who assumed the mistress-ship of the
manse. With Mrs. Allan Anne fell promptly and wholeheartedly in love.
She had discovered another kindred spirit.
Mrs. Allan is perfectly lovely, she announced one Sunday afternoon.
She s taken our class and she s a splendid teacher. She said right away
she didn t think it was fair for the teacher to ask all the questions,
and you know, Marilla, that is exactly what I ve always thought. She
said we could ask her any question we liked and I asked ever so many.
I m good at asking questions, Marilla.
I believe you, was Marilla s emphatic comment.
Nobody else asked any except Ruby Gillis, and she asked if there was
to be a Sunday-school picnic this summer. I didn t think that was a
very proper question to ask because it hadn t any connection with the
lesson--the lesson was about Daniel in the lions den--but Mrs. Allan
just smiled and said she thought there would be. Mrs. Allan has a
lovely smile; she has such _exquisite_ dimples in her cheeks. I wish I had
dimples in my cheeks, Marilla. I m not half so skinny as I was when I
came here, but I have no dimples yet. If I had perhaps I could influence
people for good. Mrs. Allan said we ought always to try to influence
other people for good. She talked so nice about everything. I never knew
before that religion was such a cheerful thing. I always thought it
was kind of melancholy, but Mrs. Allan s isn t, and I d like to be a
Christian if I could be one like her. I wouldn t want to be one like Mr.
Superintendent Bell.
It s very naughty of you to speak so about Mr. Bell, said Marilla
severely. Mr. Bell is a real good man.
Oh, of course he s good, agreed Anne, but he doesn t seem to get any
comfort out of it. If I could be good I d dance and sing all day because
I was glad of it. I suppose Mrs. Allan is too old to dance and sing and
of course it wouldn t be dignified in a minister s wife. But I can just
feel she s glad she s a Christian and that she d be one even if she
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