Olive Higgins Prouty

“ It was during her second autumn in the city that Reba was offered a position at the Women's Alliance. She did not seek it. It had never occurred to Reba that she possessed qualities useful to an organization like the Women's Alliance. She drifted into her officialdom. But it was none the less precious to her. No secretly ambitious man ever drifted into a high position with more inward joy than Reba acquired her modest desk in the Alliance's office. ”

“ There are plenty of women who succeed in keeping their mistakes hidden in the dark deep recesses of their souls, with the world never the wiser. Nathaniel Cawthorne was not the kind of man to insist upon legal claims, and Reba's life in the city was not one that offered complications as far as her marriage was concerned. She was surrounded by women on all sides—lived, worked and played with them. Her activities as an Alliance secretary (for such she became at last) thrust before her few opportunities for meeting men on a social basis, and she shrank now from seeking opportunities. ”

“ For to avoid the discomfort of unfamiliarity with any feature of her position, she studied diligently every detail of it. And it wasn't long before she established for herself a reputation for accuracy and thoroughness. Also her determination to conquer her diffidence, to overcome her quailing dread of conspicuousness, demanded that she never beg off from any service asked of her, howsoever difficult. ”