Some foolish ones even supposed that Mrs. Falconer had forgotten it . `` Well , I do not know what on earth is to be done with Camilla Clark , '' said Miss Bailey , with a prodigious sigh . `` I suppose that we will simply have to trust the whole matter to Providence . '' Miss Bailey 's tone and sigh really seemed to intimate to the world at large that Providence was a last resort and a very dubious one . Not that Miss Bailey meant anything of the sort ; her faith was as substantial as her works , which were many and praiseworthy and seasonable . The case of Camilla Clark was agitating the Ladies ' Aid of one of the Lindsay churches . They had talked about it through the whole of that afternoon session while they sewed for their missionary box -- talked about it , and come to no conclusion . In the preceding spring James Clark , one of the hands in the lumber mill at Lindsay , had been killed in an accident . The shock had proved nearly fatal to his young wife . The next day Camilla Clark 's baby was born dead , and the poor mother hovered for weeks between life and death . Slowly , very slowly , life won the battle , and Camilla came back from the valley of the shadow . But she was still an invalid , and would be so for a long time . The Clarks had come to Lindsay only a short time before the accident . They were boarding at Mrs. Barry 's when it happened , and Mrs. Barry had shown every kindness and consideration to the unhappy young widow . But now the Barrys were very soon to leave Lindsay for the West , and the question was , what was to be done with Camilla Clark ? She could not go west ; she could not even do work of any sort yet in Lindsay ; she had no relatives or friends in the world ; and she was absolutely penniless . As she and her husband had joined the church to which the aforesaid Ladies ' Aid belonged , the members thereof felt themselves bound to take up her case and see what could be done for her . The obvious solution was for some of them to offer her a home until such time as she would be able to go to work . But there did not seem to be anyone who could offer to do this -- unless it was Mrs. Falconer . The church was small , and the Ladies ' Aid smaller .
There were only twelve members in it ; four of these were unmarried ladies who boarded , and so were helpless XXXXX the matter ; of the remaining eight seven had large families , or sick husbands , or something else that prevented them from offering Camilla Clark an asylum .
at before from in of on that to while with