It was about half past nine when Fenton brought Edith into the gallery.
The crowd had by this time become pretty dense, and just inside the
door they halted, exchanging greeting with the acquaintances who
appeared on every side. The St. Filipe was an old club, and for more
than a quarter of a century had maintained the reputation of leading in
matters of art and literature. Its influence had, on the whole, been
remarkably even and intelligent; but of late it began to be felt, among
those who were radical in their views, that the club was coming under
Philistine influence. Half a dozen years before, when Fenton had
proposed Peter Calvin for membership, even the social influence of the
candidate did not save him from a rejection so marked that Arthur had
threatened to resign his own membership. Now, however, Peter Calvin was
not only a member of the St. Filipe, but he was on the Election
Committee. The club was held in favor in the circles over which his
influence extended, and although workers in all branches of art were
still included among the members, they were pretty closely pushed by
the more fashionable element of the town. Fenton was not far from right
in asserting, as he did one day to Mrs. Greyson, after her return from
Europe, that the change in his own attitude toward art was pretty
exactly paralleled by the alteration which had taken place in that of
Boston.
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