, 1885-02-08

Tut H1eu consider myself = most happy
and fortunate mar II you VIII consent 70 10
my vile f'aF' -inss's 5Ssrn sur.,,nu
T. s-Plsass let me hear from you as soon
as possible. "a
Miss Penalops gaspsd and laid down the
letter. Her state OF mind closely rcsemblsd
that OF the little old woman Of our child
hoods days upon whom Tho naughty ped
dlors trick had such a beuildering effect
She almost asked, @Am I-f7 Her min
was ia chaotic confusion. She walked ovor
% the small blurred looking glass which
hung over her chest Of drawers. and stood
there looking intantly at horsolf.
-Ah, II ho had come twenty years ngoIn
she whispered. shaking her head sadly at The
reflection before hors then / might have
bcen worth the having: now. I am an old
woman IND yet he loves me, and will con
s.der himself fortunate II 4 will be his wife.
He Is 20 strong and klndi Il must be very
pleasant to have somebody to love ono and
taks caro- OF ono ! would keep all his things
in order and mako him so comfortable.
What viii father sayi Wm he BE- willing 10
let mo gol Oh, mother, fhave kept my
trust faithfully all these years; viii Il be
wrong II 1 put this man before my fntheri
Dear Lord. what have / done 10 deserve this
great happlnessl" Falling on her knees
by her bedside, poor Miss Penelope
sobbod and cried n wall Of sorrow
for her lost youth and mora than one tear Of
Joy. She knew her own henrt now, and no
matter how things ended, IL was "a lasting
comfort To have boon loved by such a gocl
man." Here Penelope, Jr.. appeared upcii
the scene, and hearing the wonderful news
told by Mis- Penelope with a. many blushes
a. a girl OF 10, eiapped her hands and am
brnced her relative ON the spot declaring Il
was no morn than she had expected, which
last nomark greatly surprised the older
woman.
On DR.. sherburns's table lay two letters
which no was quick to spy when be cnme in
One was postmarked Boston, and was
from his sister; tho other was directed In a
small. eramped hand, the capitals carefully
elaborated, US II by one not given to much
writing. Neither OF them seemed to be
what he expected, 20 he read his sisters let.
ter first The end OF il ran thus;
ID you know anybody In that very-fnr-
away village OF yours by the name OF Pansy
Hardingi l ~happenod 10 know lin confidence.
OF ~courso,l that she Is engaged 10 my particu-
lar pct Archie Johnston He raves over her
TO me-, and report says her patsrnal relative
has no end Of money. 1 am dying 10 know
all about her. Do make her acquaintance,
and give mo your candid opinion OF her,
Her pretty ring, "a friend TO whom she
constantly spoke OF writing. and numberiess
incidents unnoticcd at the time, rushed 10 his
memory, and a kow sickcnlng conviction
grew upon tho lonely man tha youth At
tracts youth, y and that Archie Johnston's
Pansy would never DO his wife. Slowly,
annie sly, he opened tho other letter. but
after the first line or two read rapidly 10 tho
end Mis- Penelope wrote;
On JoEL S-HKRnUnNK: l have read your
letter, and must say II was a great surprise
. me. l never imagined hat you cared 20
much, or at all, for me. First OF all, i want
70 toll you some things that you may not
know. You speak OF the difference in our
ageA as II Il were a great deal. l may look
younger than ! am, but did not think 80.
l An a, and 1 heard you tell father you
were ~, 50 o 500 there Is very little differ
once. / promised mother when she died,
ten years ngo. that as long a. father lived I
would take care Of him; 40 II you took mo
you would have TO take father, too, and not
many men would want an old maid FOR a
wife, and hor old father besides. You are
also mistaken about my having had suitorA
l have never had one In my life; you are tho
only man VII has over cared enough for mo
TO ask mo to marry him, 80 / know nothing
about love affairs, but 1 do know that your
letter has mnde mo very happy. and that IL
try to make you a good wife. But l would
like you 70 consider all the obstacles, and do
nothing rash or that you might regret one OF
these days PENELOPE HARDY.
aWhcw!1 whistled tho doctor, sitting up
right la his chair. "Hero's a deuce Of n mossI
l asked Penelope, Jr., and Penelope, sr-, has
nccopte meif"
He read II again slowly. then walked over
10 the niantalpiece. took his pipe out Of hia
pocket, and knocking tho ashes out proceeded
to MI It, Atufing the tobacco we'll down
with his finger: then ho lighted It in the
sans deliberate way and returned to his
chair. He road Miss Penelopo's letter again,
several times, putting ut his pipo and stroking
his beard thoughtfully. 1 would not like 10
cay how many pipes the doctor smoked that
d sht, or how many times TINT letter was
10 4. or how many times that beard was
atroksd, nor " IL for mo 10 lay bare HIS medi
tst.ss- Enough, that quito early next
morning a small boy brought a motto TO Miss
Penelope, containing these words;
The obstacles are not insurmountnble. 1
shall call to see you this Afternoon J. s.
THIS noto throw Miss Penelope into a state
81 very trying TO Penelope. Jr.,
though IL must DO confessed that energetic
young person did a great deal In a short
timo-rooted objections to certain modern
improvements In dress were borne down and
overruled In a most determined and re1-
handed fashion, and co rtninly Penelope
Hardy. with her hair rolled loosely at the
naps ~ her neck inste ad OF In "a tight knot
on tho top OF her head, with n soft bow OF
pretty blue fastening the simple linen collar,
and relieving the severely made hlnck dress,
with a pink flush thorn Of intense excite
menp on her checks, and a new light In hsr
timii eyes, was n much p~leasanter person tc
lou, at than tho Penoiopo who had sat by
this hearth and dnrned.
Penolope, Jr, opened tho door for him
Il am very glad, she whispered heartily,
pressing his hand In her eager. girlish fash
lon. II always thought you would suit each
othor.T And befor he could find words &c
respond uhnt last remark being rather hard
upon him, considering the circumstance led
him quickly to the parlur, and shutting the
door softly. went away. lal
Behold your UiysosiH he said, with a
forced gayety, very foreign TO his usual self
assured manner But as no saw tho small
shrinking figure, the thin face flushed, tho
hands roughened and stained with many
Years OF willing labor for others, twisting
each other ncrvouziy. and thought OF the
constant soif-sacridce and repression she had
endured 90 long and so patiently, a great
wave af pity. very nigh akin to love. swept
over bis heart and be put out both hands
with a protecting gesture TO mset hers. say
ing earnestly, -Lst US cast In our lotx 10.
eether. Penslops. and try 70 be good to one
another
Thsn Miss Psnsiops broke down utterly,
and cried great tears Of joy and thankful.
ness. but this time they fell upon the shoul-
dor OF the doctors best coat. and Penelope,
IT., was not needed as a comforter.
This all happened some tme ago, and ono
would scarcely recognize the staid. prim
Miss Penelope In the sweet-facod placid
little lady who rules Or. S~herburne's honsn.
In her new life sho has expanded and
hlossomed into a grace md fullncss thai
nsloop,n and She Is fncs TO give all her love
and care TO her husband.
Parsy IL married. and comes sumstines Is