Nebraska advertiser., 1876-11-30
EFFIE'S THANKSGIVING.
BY 8. ANNIE FROST.

not. should be pleased TO introcuc
you to my family, and we want yol
to feel at home in Webster
Thank you. I shall be pleased {,
come
Goodbye, then, till tomorrow. W.
shall see you at church. and you mus
go home with u.s.
And hospitable Mr.. Greynaugh
took his gray head and good-humoreC
face out of the Office of the new doc
tor, and walked homeward at pac,
that did not promise much for fees, i
his bodily ailments were in question
Half an hour later, seated at his OWL
table, he answered the questions o
his wife and two blooming daughter
in this wise -
Yes, called on the new doctor, and
invited him to dine with US to-mor.
row. He is younger than poor Smi.
ley, Of course. but not a boy either
about thirty-four or five, I should
Judge; tall and dark, very pale, and
looks like hard student; full of new
tangled science, too, suppose. for his
. office is S perfect library and muse
um.
Mrs Greynsught, without spe aking
looked up with a wistful esrnestness,
that was oddly copied on the two fa-
ces of the two girls. The old gentle
man glanced from one to the other,
and answering some Uuspoken ap-
peal, said:
No. | have passed my word that
no further experiments shall be tried
There is no suffering, and she pleaded
so hard to be left in peace now, that 1
have promised she shall not even see
Doctor Murrell'
Mrs. Greynaught sighed softly, but
no answer was made to this enigmati-
cal speech, and in a few minutes con-
versation flowed freely again, and the
new doctor was described and dis
cussed with eager interest.
All Webster was talking on the
same subject. Calls, professional and
professional, kept the Office we'll
filed all day, for the thriving village
had but one physician, and everybody
wanted to see the gentleman who had
succeeded the kind old doctor who
had felt the pulses of the Oldest In
habitants, and been followed to the
grave by every man, woman, and
child able TO walk there.
Opinions varied. Some favorable,
some unfavorable comments were
made; and In the quiet of his room,
Doctor Murrell, too. thought over his
new position. Many of his new
friends interested him strongly, but
his mind turned often to his first call
er. Mr.. Greynaught, and he felt glad
that his invitation to a Thanksgiving
dinner was the first he received, as its
acceptance was an unanswerable ex-
cuse Sor declining the many succeed
ing ones.
In answer to cautious men ton of
his name to a gentleman who had
visited him later in the day, he had
been informed that Mr.. Greynaught
was one of the leading men in Web
ster, a retired merchant, who now
passed his time in amateur farming
and gardening, having a house,
grounds, and greenhouse that were
the pride of the country. He had
married late in life, a lady much
younger than himself, and had three
daughters, all young and at home.
Some further revelation was evident
ly arrested by the arrival of number
OF visitors, and Doctor MurreIl was
curious to know what was left unsaid,
as his informant of so much had
hitched his chair closer, and COM
menced in this wise:
Rich and respected, and with one
of the happiest homes in the country.
still Mr.. Greynaught has one great
trouble, with which you will doubt
less soon be made acquainted And
here the interruption came, and Doc
tor Murrell had no clue to the hearty.
genial old gentleman's affliction.
He was by no mea MS an inattentive
listener to the eloquence of the min
lister the next morning, but his eyes
would wander to the pew where Mr..
Greynaught sat. with his fair wife be-
side him, and two dark-eyed, dark
haired girls, enough like their father
for even stranger to notice the re-
semblance.
Introductions followed the meeting
on the church porch, and room was
made in the ample family carryall, by
the host taking seat beside the dri
yer, leaving Doctor Murreli with the
ladies. 1t was no novelty to them TO
converse with refined and educatad
friends, for Webster was not far from
New York, and the hospitabIe doors
OF their home opened often to crowds
OF summer visitors, but they one and
all admitted in their rooms before
dinner that this new arrival was
something to be valued and admired
even in the busy metropolis from
whose heart he had drifted to Web
ster. Conversational powers such as
he displayed are not granted very of.
ten, and so easy and natural was his
voice and manner that it was only
when bis words were recalled that his
listeners realized that vast fund of in
formation and observation from which
they must have been drawn.
The favorable impression of all was
increased at dinner time; and while