Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-02-25
MISS PENELOPE, SIR.
BY BARBARA YECHTON.

BY BARBARA YEcHroS.
DR.. Hardy was Miss Penelope's
father, and Miss Penelope was aunt to
Penelope Hardy, Jr. They had lived
nearly all their lives in the same old
fashioned house, and Miss Penelope
had never been away from it fer one
night even. There had been large fam
lily OF then, and az all the others were
quicker and more self-aseertiug than
Miss Penelope, somehow she had al
ways been put aside and burdens laid
upon her small shoulders in fashion
that might hive broken down strong
or spirit; but she never thought about
it at first, and when she did at lest wake
up to the fact, the mother had been
laid to rest in the quaint old church
yard, the brothers and sisters were mar
ried or gone out into the world, and
her own youth was gone. ONLY Miss
Penelope and the doctor remained-he
peculiar and somewhat OF martinez;
she, with simple, self.sacrificinR
nature and q strict New England con-
science which always kept her keenly
sensible of her own shortcomings.
At last the doctor grew too feeble to
practice any longer, and after some de-
muir, sold out to DR.. Joel Sherburre, 9
shrewd, energetic Maine man, who set
up his shingle little way off and soon
extended the business as much again Is
when he got it. He was cheerful az
we'll as skillful 1.-TWO essentials to a pop
ular physician), keeping well up with
the times, and the people were quick
to find it out. Still, he could not afford
to despise DR.. Hardy's many years of
experience, and was very glad some
times to ask the older mans advice.
which grati6ed him and consequently
pleased Miss Penelope. It was such
break in the monotonv of
their humdrum lives TO have this
big CHEEKY man to come in and sit
an hour with them, bringing q breath
of the outer world with him, for his
talk was not always of medicine; busy
as he was, he found time to read the
magazines, and many a new idea and
pleasant thought found its way to Miss
Penelope's more than half-starved
brain.
They made coy group around the
open hearth, for DR.. Hardy was as fond
of roaring wood fire as Charles Dud-
Icy Warner himself, and looked upon "a
hole in the floor" as an invention of the
Evil One.
The two doctors talked and argued to
their hearts content, while Miss Pencil
ope sat on the opposite side of the
hearth, and knitted or darned and
listened. She was full of kindly i'm
pulses, and observing that DR.. Sher-
burnes driving gloves were out at I'm
gers, she timidly offered, one evening.
to mend them for him, and did 30 while
he sat there; another time, in some
mysterious way, she discovered that
there were great holes in his overcoat
pockets, which also received attention.
and gradually the new doctor began to
have quiet friendly feeling for the
unobtrusive little woman.
Now Miss Penelope had never had a
beau, that is, an out. and-out one. Many
years before, when she was ia the hey:
day OF her youth, and round and pleas
ant to look at, John Miller, the school
masters son, had made one or two ad-
vances. On one occasion he had WHIT
ed at the church door to see her home.
and had made it q point to offer her
! half his book in singing-school, but
! Miss Penelope had been too shy or in.
7 different to respond, 30 finally he went
away, and she never heard anything
more Of him. Her life had been too
full of cares and responsibilities TO give
any thought to love or love-makine. 20
abe came to be an undeniably old maid
without ever having been in love.
Affairs were at this stage when Pencil.
ope, Jr.. came home. In fit of graft.
tude for having been nursed through q
severe illness, her mother had named
her after Miss Penelope, but Is the
gratitude wore away, it was corrupted
to Pansy, "a silly, furbishy name," said
her grandfather, and rever called her
by it. though every one else did, even
DR.. Sherburne, although he liked the
old-fashioned name best, and always
thought of her by it. Her mother had
died years before, and her father was in
California making money, 20 the girl
spent nef summers with her mothers
people and her winters in the old home
stead.
She was . happy; winsonie youne
thing, and frightened up the old house
wonderfully. She and DR.. Sherburn<
made friends at once. She played OF
the three-leaged old piano. and the
doctor suddenly discovered he could &C
company her on the violin. Such fur
as they had over their duets, such viz
orous and masterful beginnings, and
such lame and squeaky endings. They
were even daring enough to attempt Dc
Beriot!
DR.. Joel dropped in quite often now
and close observer would have noticed
that he wore his Sunday clothes almos,
every evening, was much moro particu.
lar in his general appearance, and al.
ways had something TO show or tell
Penelope, Jr., in which that willy little
maiden appeared to be deeply inter
ested. These days Penelope. Sr., did
not feel q cheerful q usual. She found
herself signing and feeling very lonely
at times, and those times, strange e
say, were generally when Pansy and Dr.
Joel were practieing duets together, o.
reading out OF the same book or talkina
| over mntuAl exnarianNea IN TIA onA~3I1