Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-11-10
Virgil and Columella for hint some

merry at her expense when she commit
ted more egregious mistake than u.s.
ual, but she bore such jests as reached
her ear with imperturbableg good humor,
for, without having any of his morbid
sensitiveness, she rivaled poor Hayden
in sublime contempt for criticism.
There was an element of practically
in her nature, however, which led her
at times to contemplate the necessity OF
considering her ways.
Penny occupied the nominal position
of steward on the farm, but Miss Gurteen
was too much of an autOcrat to admit OF
this position being more than normal.
His advice she by no means felt bound
to follow, though she did not prohibit it.
He had, on one occasion, urged the ne
cessity of having more sheep on the farm,
and as the suggestion seemed to her
reasonable, she purchased a small but
beautiful flock on what she thought to
be favorable terms.
"Well, Penny, what do you think OF
the sheep?' she asked after she had re-
turned from inspecting them.
Penny, whose face was usually red,
and rigid in the lines of it, opened his
lips to reply, and a loud laugh, which he
had been at much pains to suppress,
took the opportunity to escape.
"Have you lost your senses, man.
said Miss Gurteen, angrily, that you
behave in that way before me?" ~e.
81 beg pardon, Miss he said, re-
covering his gravity with an effort that
nearly choked him, 81 couldn't help
it,
"Penny, you're a great baby" said
his mistress; "that's what you are.
And now about the sheep"
"Why, Lor' bless you miss
He stopped suddenly, grew purple in
the face, resolutely compressed his
mouth, turned his head, and burst into
an uncomfortable roar of laughter.
Miss Gurteen looked on with amaze
ment. When the paroxysm was over,
she said, severely:
"Penny, you've been taking too much
cider.''
81 haven had drop O. zider sim
ever so long," said he, substituting an
indefinite phrase, as it flashed upon him
that he had just refreshed himself with
cup in the kitchen. 'But they sheep
they be all rams!'
Some time after this, Miss Gurteen.
who had been meditating much, said:
sPenny, I've been thinking about
those sheep. shall always be making
Mistakes
"Like enough, MISS" said he, with
all the gravity he could command.
81 can only see one way to keep clear
of them,' she went on. 81 shall have
to marry you.''
Penny grinned from ear to ear.
ooh, man." she said, petulantly,
don't grin like that. 1t makes me
sick. What do you say to it?''
"Well, MISS" said he, /" if you be
willin' I be-
And with that brief wooing Miss Cur
teen became Mrs. Penny. The relations
between the pair were scarcely altered.
She remains autocrat still, and he, good,
easy man, was still steward, with but
little increased responsibility. He was
placid and obedienJ, and their life was
happy enough. In the course of time
son and heir was born-the young ma
lignant whom we found casting stones at
the jenny-wrens, then about fourteen
years of age, a plump, well-grown, at
fectionate boy.
Mrs. Penny had from his birth des-
tined him for the church, the living of
Elmholt being in her gift, and the lad,
with placidity which would have done
no discredit to his father, acquiesced in
the destiny. Not that he felt any special
vocation for that sacred office, of which
he would even (the young scapegrace!)
with considerable humor make fun when
he made his way into the kitchen and
extemporized pulpit with couple of
chairs, and a surplice with a tablecloth,
to the infinite merriment of the servants.
The proclivity of the boy for finding
companionship in the kitchen was Mrs.
Penny's greatest trouble. She had been
at infinite pains to make him understand
that he was gentleman, and must
avoid GLOW company" such as that
afforded by the servants and-his father.
That s'Penny'' should prefer to sit in
the kitchen, smoking his pipe and chat
ting with the laborers after his days
work, was natural and right; he be-
longed to that class of people; but her
son was expected to keep state with her
in the parlor, or in dignified promen-
ade up and down the filbert walk. Gus
opposed to this passive resistance.
When caught and marched off with Mrs.
Penny's hand on his collar, he made no
complaint, took his book or his pencil,
listened to his lecture, and rendered
obedience so long as the maternal eye
was on him; but the moment he was
released from that stern gaze, he slipped
back with unimpaired cheerfulness, and
with as much perseverance as a moth
pursues its own shadow on the ceiling,
evidently regarding the parlor existence
as merely parenthetical.
''He will grow out of it, said Mrs.
Penny, when she cautioned her steward
not to encourage him in the practice.
But he did not grow out of it. Even
after his experiences at genteel board
ing-school, he would come back to shud-
der away from the dull decorum of the
gentlefolks' quarter of his home to the
cosiness, warmth, freedom and fun of
the common folks. Gradually, too,
there grew up in his mind a painful
sense Of his fathers position. 1t did
not come to him early, for from his
babyhood his father had been always a
quiet, good hundred cipher. and the
perception of strangeness in conditions
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