The Opelousas courier., 1899-12-09

count, it was money we needed, AM
of that he had none. Then, ate
much hard thinking I devised q plan
and though it was a great shock t.
father and mother at first, [ carries
the day, and the upshot of it was tina
we advertised for a summer boardeI
for Jul spare room. Unless you hav'
done the same thing at some awful
crisis in your life you can never for
moment imagine, oh, reader, the aw
full mixture of hope and fear that helt
place in III hearts, until we received
a neatly written, briefly worded note
signed "Phpbe Knapp"
Mother vas taken with it at once,
and as she delights i'll all things mis-
cradle because she can make them
feel better. she was especially capt.
waited by the closing sentence, which
ran: Having recently met With a
bereavement, the rest and quiet you
offer will be q great boon to me-
"Widow. likely" said father, as we
read the note aloud in his presence
(for the fifth time).
"Miss or Mrs, katie?' asked
mother, although we both knew the
signature by heart. "Yours sincere
~, Phoebe Knapp"
''I'm sure I don't know. I can't
read between the lines,"I answered,
rather iippantly, I fear.
This unknown was beginning to
take a sort Of weird possession Of me.
1t seemed uncanny that everything
should turn upon the movements of a
stranger whom we had never seen,
and wherever [ turned I could not
help seeing a silent figure in a long
Grape veil lifting it's hanl and com
handing me to do this or that, upon
which I was already engaged.
However, we were eli ready for her
at last, and when father came from
the station and deposited upon the
front piazza a tiny little woman Of
about fifty years of age, with big,
frightened gray eyes, and delicate.
sensitive features, a creature that
would have looked small beside a ro-
bust child of ten-the contrast be-
tween this little object and the COM
manding figure of my imagination
was so great that I almost had a fit
Of Mysteries on the spot. T took
refuge in flight, while mother cooed
and coddled the ''poor dear" and took
her up to her room. You see, mother
was just in her clement. while I had
ell my notions to readjust to existing
circumstances. My flights of fancy
will be the death Of me some day,
says.
I caught mother on the stair q mo-
ment as they were coming down and
breathed softly into her ear, Miss or
Mrs. ?"
II don't know. I couldn't find
answered mother in that awful
stage whisper of hers that sends me
nearly into fits whenever she tries it.
But u boarder did not seem to no.
tice. I made a venture on a bold
II shall call her Mrs. Knapp,
and then she can correct me if she does
Mt like it. I've always heard that it
gives q middle-aged married woman
much greater offense to be called
Miss than it does to address a single
sister as Mrs, SO here goes"
II hope you had a pleasant trip
down, M-m-," I said pleasantly, al
my voice to die away on the
last syllables as I found my courage
out at the tip of my tongue. I
couldn't say Mrs. Knapp after all, to
save me.
I noticed with much amusement
hat father and mother avoided the
as successfully as I did, during
hat first meal, and we all went out on
the piazza after supper to enjoy the
Here our guest set our minds
1t rest.
"How James would have enjoyed
exclaimed she, softly, as if half
herself. Mother nodded so vigor-
'usly and triumphantly behind her
'aGs that I was afraid she would
it, and SO fastened to nod in
We knew now. She was a
widow. "Ne loved to sit beside me
md watch the setting sun, even in
he city," she went on softly. "It
Gems terribly lonely without him.
Oh, if I could only have brought him
tut into such a peaceful place as this,
le might be alive now! That last hot |
pell was so hard on him. I thought
perhaps he had q sunstroke, but I
'ould not tell"
Mothers eyes filed with sympa-
hetic tears, and as she laid her hand
over that Of Mrs. Knapp she
inquired tenderly, "How long is it
ince he died, dear?"
six weeks" answered the widow.
He was all that I had in the world,
nd I have been so lonely ever since.
Sut, please. Mrs. Curtis, Icannot talk
bout it quite yet"
Nevertheless, she did stalk about
!" quite q good deal in the days that
ollowed, with the effect that I, who
'as a w~ide-awake girl at that time,
,eculiarly susceptible to first impress
ions, imbibed an impression of the
Mr. Knapp's eccentricities that
not altogether complimentary to
be departed gentleman.
"Poor dear!" said she, one day.
He tried 30 hard to speak. If he
My could have told his wants!" We
lst let her talk on, feeling that this
as kindest and best. T inferred
'om this last remark that her hus-
and had been affected by paralysis,
articularly as she had said on an
ther occasion, 81 used to sit at my
indow and James sat at his. I sew
lg, he looking out of the windows at
nat was going on in the street. He
samed perfectly happy as long as I
o. IL nno d.