minmarn/Gone_with_the_wind · Datasets at Hugging Face

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breach in the pleasant relations. They were gentle, quiet spoken,
reserved people and not given to even the amiable bickering that
characterized most Atlanta families.

But now they were split in twain and the town was privileged to
witness cousins of the fifth and sixth degree taking sides in the
most shattering scandal Atlanta had ever seen. This worked great
hardship and strained the tact and forbearance of the unrelated
half of the town, for the India-Melanie feud made a rupture in
practically every social organization. The Thalians, the Sewing
Circle for the Widows and Orphans of the Confederacy, the
Association for the Beautification of the Graves of Our Glorious
Dead, the Saturday Night Musical Circle, the Ladies' Evening
Cotillion Society, the Young Men's Library were all involved. So
were four churches with their Ladies' Aid and Missionary societies.
Great care had to be taken to avoid putting members of warring
factions on the same committees.

On their regular afternoons at home, Atlanta matrons were in
anguish from four to six o'clock for fear Melanie and Scarlett
would call at the same time India and her loyal kin were in their
parlors.

Of all the family, poor Aunt Pitty suffered the most. Pitty, who
desired nothing except to live comfortably amid the love of her
relatives, would have been very pleased, in this matter, to run
with the hares and hunt with the hounds. But neither the hares nor
the hounds would permit this.

India lived with Aunt Pitty and, if Pitty sided with Melanie, as
she wished to do, India would leave. And if India left her, what
would poor Pitty do then? She could not live alone. She would
have to get a stranger to live with her or she would have to close
up her house and go and live with Scarlett. Aunt Pitty felt
vaguely that Captain Butler would not care for this, or she would
have to go and live with Melanie and sleep in the little cubbyhole
that was Beau's nursery.

Pitty was not overly fond of India, for India intimidated her with
her dry, stiff-necked ways and her passionate convictions. But she
made it possible for Pitty to keep her own comfortable establishment
and Pitty was always swayed more by considerations of personal
comfort than by moral issues. And so India remained.

But her presence in the house made Aunt Pitty a storm center, for
both Scarlett and Melanie took that to mean that she sided with
India. Scarlett curtly refused to contribute more money to Pitty's
establishment as long as India was under the same roof. Ashley
sent India money every week and every week India proudly and
silently returned it, much to the old lady's alarm and regret.
Finances at the red-brick house would have been in a deplorable
state, but for Uncle Henry's intervention, and it humiliated Pitty
to take money from him.

Pitty loved Melanie better than anyone in the world, except
herself, and now Melly acted like a cool, polite stranger. Though
she practically lived in Pitty's back yard, she never once came
through the hedge and she used to run in and out a dozen times a
day. Pitty called on her and wept and protested her love and
devotion, but Melanie always refused to discuss matters and never
returned the calls.

Pitty knew very well what she owed Scarlett--almost her very
existence. Certainly in those black days after the war when Pitty
was faced with the alternative of Brother Henry or starvation,
Scarlett had kept her home for her, fed her, clothed her and
enabled her to hold up her head in Atlanta society. And since
Scarlett had married and moved into her own home, she had been
generosity itself. And that frightening fascinating Captain
Butler--frequently after he called with Scarlett, Pitty found
brand-new purses stuffed with bills on her console table or lace
handkerchiefs knotted about gold pieces which had been slyly
slipped into her sewing box. Rhett always vowed he knew nothing
about them and accused her, in a very unrefined way, of having a
secret admirer, usually the be-whiskered Grandpa Merriwether.

Yes, Pitty owed love to Melanie, security to Scarlett, and what did
she owe India? Nothing, except that India's presence kept her from
having to break up her pleasant life and make decisions for
herself. It was all most distressing and too, too vulgar and
Pitty, who had never made a decision for herself in her whole life,
simply let matters go on as they were and as a result spent much
time in uncomforted tears.

In the end, some people believed whole-heartedly in Scarlett's
innocence, not because of her own personal virtue but because
Melanie believed in it. Some had mental reservations but they were
courteous to Scarlett and called on her because they loved Melanie
and wished to keep her love. India's adherents bowed coldly and
some few cut her openly. These last were embarrassing, infuriating,
but Scarlett realized that, except for Melanie's championship and
her quick action, the face of the whole town would have been set
against her and she would have been an outcast.




CHAPTER LVI

breach in the pleasant relations. They were gentle, quiet spoken,

reserved people and not given to even the amiable bickering that

characterized most Atlanta families.

But now they were split in twain and the town was privileged to

witness cousins of the fifth and sixth degree taking sides in the

most shattering scandal Atlanta had ever seen. This worked great

hardship and strained the tact and forbearance of the unrelated

half of the town, for the India-Melanie feud made a rupture in

practically every social organization. The Thalians, the Sewing

Circle for the Widows and Orphans of the Confederacy, the

Association for the Beautification of the Graves of Our Glorious

Dead, the Saturday Night Musical Circle, the Ladies' Evening

Cotillion Society, the Young Men's Library were all involved. So

were four churches with their Ladies' Aid and Missionary societies.

Great care had to be taken to avoid putting members of warring

factions on the same committees.

On their regular afternoons at home, Atlanta matrons were in

anguish from four to six o'clock for fear Melanie and Scarlett

would call at the same time India and her loyal kin were in their

parlors.

Of all the family, poor Aunt Pitty suffered the most. Pitty, who

desired nothing except to live comfortably amid the love of her

relatives, would have been very pleased, in this matter, to run

with the hares and hunt with the hounds. But neither the hares nor

the hounds would permit this.

India lived with Aunt Pitty and, if Pitty sided with Melanie, as

she wished to do, India would leave. And if India left her, what

would poor Pitty do then? She could not live alone. She would

have to get a stranger to live with her or she would have to close

up her house and go and live with Scarlett. Aunt Pitty felt

vaguely that Captain Butler would not care for this, or she would

have to go and live with Melanie and sleep in the little cubbyhole

that was Beau's nursery.

Pitty was not overly fond of India, for India intimidated her with

her dry, stiff-necked ways and her passionate convictions. But she

made it possible for Pitty to keep her own comfortable establishment

and Pitty was always swayed more by considerations of personal

comfort than by moral issues. And so India remained.

But her presence in the house made Aunt Pitty a storm center, for

both Scarlett and Melanie took that to mean that she sided with

India. Scarlett curtly refused to contribute more money to Pitty's

establishment as long as India was under the same roof. Ashley

sent India money every week and every week India proudly and

silently returned it, much to the old lady's alarm and regret.

Finances at the red-brick house would have been in a deplorable

state, but for Uncle Henry's intervention, and it humiliated Pitty

to take money from him.

Pitty loved Melanie better than anyone in the world, except

herself, and now Melly acted like a cool, polite stranger. Though

she practically lived in Pitty's back yard, she never once came

through the hedge and she used to run in and out a dozen times a

day. Pitty called on her and wept and protested her love and

devotion, but Melanie always refused to discuss matters and never

returned the calls.

Pitty knew very well what she owed Scarlett--almost her very

existence. Certainly in those black days after the war when Pitty

was faced with the alternative of Brother Henry or starvation,

Scarlett had kept her home for her, fed her, clothed her and

enabled her to hold up her head in Atlanta society. And since

Scarlett had married and moved into her own home, she had been

generosity itself. And that frightening fascinating Captain

Butler--frequently after he called with Scarlett, Pitty found

brand-new purses stuffed with bills on her console table or lace

handkerchiefs knotted about gold pieces which had been slyly

slipped into her sewing box. Rhett always vowed he knew nothing

about them and accused her, in a very unrefined way, of having a

secret admirer, usually the be-whiskered Grandpa Merriwether.

Yes, Pitty owed love to Melanie, security to Scarlett, and what did

she owe India? Nothing, except that India's presence kept her from

having to break up her pleasant life and make decisions for

herself. It was all most distressing and too, too vulgar and

Pitty, who had never made a decision for herself in her whole life,

simply let matters go on as they were and as a result spent much

time in uncomforted tears.

In the end, some people believed whole-heartedly in Scarlett's

innocence, not because of her own personal virtue but because

Melanie believed in it. Some had mental reservations but they were

courteous to Scarlett and called on her because they loved Melanie

and wished to keep her love. India's adherents bowed coldly and

some few cut her openly. These last were embarrassing, infuriating,

but Scarlett realized that, except for Melanie's championship and

her quick action, the face of the whole town would have been set

against her and she would have been an outcast.

CHAPTER LVI