Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-03-13
MISS PENELOPE, SENIOR.
BY BARBARA YECHToN.

MISS PENELOPE, SEAlOR.
BY BARBARA YECHToN.
DR.. Hardy was Miss Penelopsl faith
or, and Miss Penelope was aunt to Pen
elope Hardy, Jr. They had lived near
II all their lives in the same old-fash-
toned house, and Miss Penelope had
never been away from it for one night
even. There had been large family
Of them, but only Miss Penelope and
the doctor remained he peculiar and
somewhat of q martinez; she, with q
simple, self sacrificing nature and a
strict New England conscience.
At last the doctor grew too feeble
to practice any longer, and, after some
denaur, sold out to DR.. Joel Sherburne,
a shrewd, energetic Maine man, who
set up his single little way of, and
soon extended the business. He was
cheerful as we'll as skillful, and 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 sometimes to ask the older mans
advice, which gratiied him and conse-
quently pleased Miss Penelope. IT was
such a break in. the monotony Of their
lives to have this big CHEEKY man to
come in and sitsan hour with them,
bringing breath of the outer world
with linn, for his talk was not always OF
medicine; busy as he was he found time
to read the magazines, and many new
idea and pleasant thought found it's way
to Miss Penelope's more than half
starved brain. ~. ~, ~
They made coy group around the
upen hearth. The doctors talked and
argued to their hearts content, while
Miss Penelope sat on the opposite side
OF the hearth and knitted and darned
and listened. She was full of kindly
impulses, and observing that DR.. Sher-
burne's driving gloves were out at the
fingers, she timidly offered one evening
to mend them for him, and did so 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 unob-
trusive little woman. !: %*'
Affairs we're at this stage when Pene.
lope, Jr., came home. In fit of graft
tude for having been nursed through a
severe illness, her mother had named
her after Miss Penelope; but, Us the
gratitude wore away, it was corrupted
to Pansy, "a silly, furbishy name,", said
her grandfather, who never called her
by it, though every one else did, even
DR.. Sherburne, although he liked the
old fashihned name best and always
thought of her by it. Her mother had
died years before, and her father was in
California making money, so the girl
spent her summers with her mothers
people and her winters in the old home
stead. 5.
She was happy, winsome young
thing, and frightened up the old house
wonderfully. She and DR.. Sherburne
made friends at once. DR.. Joel dropped
in quite often now, and close observer
would have noticed that he wore his
Sunday clothes almost every evening,
was much more particular in his general
appearance, and always had something
to show or tell Penelope, Jr., in which
that willy little maiden appeared to be
deeply interested. These days Pene-
lope, ST., did not feel as cheerful as
usual. 1t did not occur to her to blame
either Of them; in fact. she knew of a
little episode in P ansy's life which had
resulted in the pretty ring on her fin
ger, and she thought the doctor knew
Z it, and it seemed quite natural that he
would prefer the younger woman's com
pany.
AS time wore on the doctors visits
grew very frequent, and he began to
realize, for the first time In his busy
life, that bachelor quarters were bare
and dismal places. Visions of pleas
ant hearth of his own and pleasant
face beside the hearth began to haunt
his waking moments, and, after much
. cogitation and weighing OF pros and
cons, DR.. Sherburne wrote q letter. It
was work of some time and medita-
tion, and cost many sheet Of paper
before it was completed; then patient
unexpectedly stepping into the office,
it was hurriedly addressed to Miss
/ Penelope Hardy" and despatched.
II During the day it was received.
Pansy took it in, and reading the snper-
scription, ran mp stairs lightly to Miss
Penelope's room with it. Here Miss
r l. q y 4