The Red Cloud chief., 1888-11-23
STORY OF A LIFE
Tho Quiet Comfort Miss DENNY
Derived from Hor Telescope.

There come unsocial periods to Oh,
lives OF every n of US: days and
weeks when our own moods and EN-
Payments and thoughts are OF para,
mount and engrossing importance and
other people lose their interest for u.
and reccde into temporary distance. 1,
Is not that We love man less. but
ourselves. for the moment. more: some
instinct of self-prescrvation prompt
us to be isolated and left alone for
awhile.
Such "A period came to me summer be.
fore last. when. after nearly a year o!
enforced ~idleness. ] shut myself in the
third story corner-rOom of Mrs. Merry.
weather's quaint old clearinghouse.
to make up for lost time. by "A short
spell of continuous work. Day after
day wrote. and read and took notes,
sitting beside a delightful west win
dow. which. from beneath the pensilc
bOughs. of an immense willow, looked
over green meadows and copses 70
attai va III ptilIlItSS
stood against the sky. With that
vague. unseeing gaze which does not
see. | watched the cloud shadows blow
across the distance and dapple the face
oil the blue ranges. the crows rising
and falling in the meadow with hoarse.
%jargoning cries. the doves on the
neighboring boughs but not the vii
lage houses. which formed the fore
ground Of the picture. and the men
and women who walked the sleepy
for | am unobservant. both by nature
and training. and. for the moment, by
intention. shrink from idea the of in
corruption. from the dangcrG becoming
Interested in man or woman till INV
work WAS done. elected not to see,
SO ! did not see. Happily il rained a
good deal just then. 50 there were
fewer people and les, temptation.
Iiut by the end of the third week,
when the weather had cleared and INV
work was well along. my dormant OBJ
%servation quickened. and. among other
things. | began to wonder idly what
could be the purpose Of a strange
structure on a neighboring roof. 1t
was spherical in form. and seemed
altogether too big and pOnderous for
the very small house which it SUR
mounted. | resolved To inquire Of
Mrs. Merryweather about it. but forgot
my intention from time 10 time, until
n day. when returning from "a walk,
found her placidly knitting stockings
on her own doorstep. with a book on
her lap. and suddenly rccollccted TO
ask the question.
That" she replied. indicating
with "A wave of her needle the object
which had excited my curiosity: don't
tell that you Y noticed il before?
That's curious. for its queer enough to
look at. Most folks pick it out AZ
once It's where Miss Denny's tele-
scope is"
IAN observatory. | never thought of
that The house Is 50 very small"
$50 II Is. Ii always WI, n small
house. They had great times getting
the roof fixed 10 hold it. and brickiny
up the sides Ia make il strong. But
nothing else would satisfy Mis-, Denny. |
80 they managed i, "a, last. l guess
the whole thing would come down to-
gether if they tried to move il away
now"
but who was this Miss Denny and
what did she want of a t~clcscopeo
Was h So very fond of astronOmy?'
l asked. seating myself on the steps
beside her.
You re N for stories. I guess" OBJ |
served my landlady. shrewdly. This !
isn't much of a story To tell about. tho |
II always makes me feel n little bad to !
think about Marianne Denny. She
WAS N of the kennybunkpor, Dcnnys. |
| never knew what made them come
here in the first place. but here they |
were as far back as I remember. There
was an old mother who WAS feeble, |
and a sister who MAS always sort OF
aiiing and complaining. and Marianne. |
That was all. except Sarah Denny. and
she died young. Marianne taught the
district school when l was a mite of a
child. 81 you can see there was q good
deal of difference between us, as much
as seventeen or eighteen years I guess:
but We was always friends somehow.
from the first"
"Was she SO attractive them"
We'll. l. can't say for everybody. III
always pitied her and liked her some
how She was little and thin and
timid-like. She had big eyes. which
always seemed 10 be looking far OF
and NOT seeing things that was close to
her distinctly.
well. l grew up and got married
about As early Ms l could. rs girls 90.
but Marianne stayed an old maid. III
don't believe she minded much. Some
times I've thought there might hare
been something when she was young.
before l knew her. to set her agains,
It: anyhow. she never seemed 70 care
for any Of the young men. Her
mother and sister kept On getting more
and more helpless and aha h>c& m