The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1889-03-22
OUR ROBIN.
CHAPTER /.

LANho y w Ahcb bOU
ter put off the writing of that letter
until Tomorrow"
/ turn my eyes from a long coE1tem-
plation of the never ceasing rain, stop
nibbling the end of my penholder, and
answer energetically-
Decidedly not. The sooner it goes
the better. / shall have no rest until
l get Robins answer"
"But, my love, the letter seems,t to
be such an ancomn,only difficult one
to write," pursues EAy aunt, with most
provoking honesty. etYou have been
sitting in front of that devonport for
the last half hour"-eonsulting her
watch-"and Z don't think you have
begun it yet"
"You are right, most observant OF
aunts, II answer; slightly eoloring as
dip my pen for about the twentieth
time into the ink. II was only think
ing what a change it would make in
our lives if L could induce Robin to
come"
"You are too'much given to dream
ing, my love-" r~ejoins, aunt Louisa
placidly.F
There is N denying the fact thus
c~rushingly stated. My nature is
apathetic. Il have an unfortunate
habit of sitting for hours together do
ing nothing-absolutely nothing but
dreaming, as my aunt terms it, Yet
on occasion [ Gamble even more ener-
getic and speedy than most people,
no rf1H111 nIl " u-hnn, Ctf,, ~ :f{o onto, h.
any allusion to my pet weakness. On
the present occasion l. shake Of the
idleness which has been rendering nv
wits so dull and dash boldly into my
letter. On, on flies my pen, with nsver
a moment for thought as to, the cor
rect formation of sentences-en, on,
till five sheets are blackened WITH my
untidy caligraphy.
''There!" eXclaim, pushing back
my chair from the devonport as /
stamp the envelope. II can get
through work as fast as anybody. you
see, when I set about it,. I;have writ
ten five sheets in fve-and-twentW HYfn-
utes."
Aunt Louisa smiles. an, iadil:gent
smile.
II allow, my DEAR. that your. quill
pen, nee set in motion, is a. forngfd-
able little instrument 1t makes O
great, and to my ears, rather ir1itat-
ing noise, uses a vast amount of ink,
and wastes a quarter of acquire of
paper, Ove a letter that, if Itwere to
write it, would abouttfill three pages.
l wonder why girls nowadays are
taught to write like men?"
''The progress of the times,"-E re-
turn, laughing. ssYou know, auntie,
people had to write as if q spider had
erawled over the paper in, your days,
because the postage was so heavy"
Aunt Louisa makes no answer only
the "click, click" OF her knitting
needles is heard, which, is in very
truth as irritating to me as the scratch
of my quill pen Gamble to her.. She
has been engaged on a,shell-p&tterned
quilt for the past six months, and i
seems to the uninitiated eye to be still
in the days. of its infancy. After
watching her active fingers for a few
moments, I! leave the 'devenpopt and
hunt up my own work, a. cruel anti
macassar. Truth to- tell, it is just
about as interminable as Aunt leuisa's
quilt. The only notable, difference in
our progress is this-as- a RUE, / sit
with my work in my lap, rarely max
ing a stitch, and it does not get finish
ed; aunt Louisa. on the contrary,
works as indefatigably as any bee, he
fingers weary for a moment; and
yet the quilt apparently gets
bigger. This is incomprehsnsible to a
thinking mind. [ am searching
among my wool for a necessary shade
of pink, when, Aunt Louisa asks abb
ruptly-
s'Do you think Miss Wolstencroft
will eome?"
YES" 1 answer a triie doubtfully
THAT is, 1 hope she, will and / don't
see any reason why She should not.
We were great friends at school"
My aunt heaves a faint sigh.
.sYou know, dear child" she says in
her gentle voice, 'sthat I am always
pleased with anything that gives you
pleasure, and I dare say you particu-
larly feel the. need of a young CON-
panion just now. Of curse yours has
been till lately rather an isolated life,
At the same time, from the description
tou have given me Of your friend. I
imagine that she is hardly the kind of
grit accommodate herself to our quiet
ways"
s.Of course she WON'T" 1 answer,
laughing. s'Robin is just as full of
life and spirits as we are dull and de-
pressed. Why, auntie dear, she will
come like a fresh March wind into the
house, and brace us all up into a state
of activity"
s.For my own part, 1 dislike the
March wind" replies aunt Louisa,
w-th a SILVER; "and I don't think l
appreciate restless over-energetie
s~atures."
"Yet you blame me for being lethar-
gie," 1 say slyly.
There is a happy medium in all
things" remarks aunt sagely. ga
young girl should strive to be cheer
full, but not hilarious, witty, but never
vulgar, active, but not restless"
ssBut wouldn't the world become a
little monotonous, auntie, if all girls
we're after the same %pattern?" 1 query
a little mischieviously.
II don't think there is much fear OF
monotony in the present day." returns
my aunt, with just the faintest touch
of satire in her tones. s'Girls now
have more individuality than Is con-
sistent with my idea of propriety."
stYou have just hit on the word,
auatia" says Observation-Disclosures