The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-06-10

president OF the board of managers Of
the institution for half orphans sent
out an old stager who maintained g
grim silence, while our bachelor rector
Rev. Ralph Hunt, who more than a.
score of years ago had been sutton Of
aunt's, presented another veteran
which he had obtained from a retired
sea captain. d j.
Sue certainly had the. most annoy
ance to put up with. Poor girl! She
had gone about with red eyelids for,
weeks. DR.. Farquhar, the old doctors
assistant, had come to spend an even
ing with her. There was nothing un-
usual in this; in fact, it was the fifth
evening that week, but this time he
asked Sue very special question. Sue
had shyly slipped away to the window
to give her answer from that vantage
point, but before she had time for a
word, a voice, precisely like her own,
in meditation, replied: "Go home, you
fool!" .ssS s. RS
Now DR.. Farquhar is hot-tempered
man, rather prone to act on impulse.
On this occasion he waited for no furl
Their remarks, but made hasty depart,
ure we'll puncutated by the vicious slam
he gave to the front door, while the
guilty parrot that had caused all the
mischief burst into roar OF laughter.
I hurried down, only to find Sue shak-
ing her fstat a bird perched on the win
dow ledge above.
ooh, you beast! Wouldn't like ia
wiring your neck!'' she calculated, as
the tears streamed down her face.
This from our even-tempered Sue was
quite equal to profanity, and soon she
poured out the whole ridiculous, but
nevertheless painful story to me.
About this time Aunt Rivers mounted
her next hobby. She became hypo-
chondriacal, and imagined herself tho
victim of half the diseases that afflict
mankind. Inearly ruined my eyesight
porting over medical records for her cdi-
fication. We all scoffed at the notion
that there was anything more serious
than a touch of indigestion ailing her,
but outwardly we were her devoted
nurses. At her request we moved her
bed into the airy front room, where,
with her cabinets of china and her
IDENTIFY awaited her recovery.
AS the days went by there was but
little improvement in her state. Her
strong belief in her ill-health kept her
down as effectually as if fatal illness
had her in the tolls. I was not sur
prised when she aroused me one night
to send in post haste for the doctor and
clergyman. ''The end" she informed
me, sepulchrally, "the end has come"
The old doctor was i'll, and DR.. Far
quhar came in his stead. Sue grew very
white as he entered the room. At the
same moment the fat old rector came
wheeling in with such evident concern
in his puffy countenance that I felt
ashamed of ever having laughed at him,
and began to wonder if he really cared
for Aunt Rivers. T.
Awakened by the disturbances. and
the light, the rector's parrot sent up: an
aggrieved shout of ,."Who The devil are.
you?'' This was the signal for the
outbreak. hope, never to hear such
sounds again. There was general up
roar, in which such remarks as 'sWho
the devil, "Polly wants a cracker" and
Good morning, ma'am" were readily
distinguished. Then by way of duet,
the rector's parrot united with Bob's
offering in giving utterance to a volley
of oaths that blush to think of.
To diversity further these remark
able proceedings, the Angora and the
pug, that we had left sleeping quietly
in their RESPECTIVE baskets, came bound
ing in from opposite directions, and
fancying this an opportune occasion for
settling some long-cherished differ
ences of opinion, engaged in mortal
combat.
The rector, in his anxiety to separate
them, stumbled on an immense medical
work which had carelessly left on the
floor, and in struggling to regain his
balance, lurched against one of the
china cabinets, which came crashing to
the floor. For. the next five minutes
there was a grand melee of rector, dog,
cat and broken glass and china, and
above all the tumult came aunt's voice
dearest, say you're not hurt
and I'll name the day." And actually
the fat old parson somehow got on
lis feet, and, with blood flowing from
the cuts on his hands and face, bent
over and kissed her, to the utter aston
i.hment of DIR. F'arquhar, who, after
being summoned to death bed, sud-
denly found himself intruding upon the
privacy Of a family with whom his own
connection had been severed. 5>%*
In the first lull of the uproar dulcet
voice very near his ear whispered: go
home, you old fool" direction which
the hot-tempered doctor would have
been glad to follow bad not q sudden
misgiving beset him. The width Of the
room lay between him and Sue. The
whisper, therefore, could not have come
from. her. a sudden light dawned on
the young physician, for the wretched
half-orphan parrot here hoped on the:
bed and surveyed him with sardonic
grim. y, 4. 81. Il i.
He threw a pleading glance at Sue,