The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-08-11
THELATE Mr.. KNAPP,

me us if everybody ought to know the
people l know, without any particular
explanation.
Well, it was just this way. That sum
mer that mother and wanted to paper
the sitting room, though father would
have given mother his head if she had
asked for it, heads didn't count, it WAS
money we needed, and of that he had
none. Then after much hard thinking
| devised a plan. and though it was Il
great shock to father and mother at first,
l carried the day, and the upshot of it
was that we advertised for summer
boarder for our spare room. Unless you
have done the same thing at some awful
crisis i'll your life you can never for mo-
ment imagine, oh, reader, the awful mix
turc of hope and fear that held place in
our hearts, until we received a neatly
written, briefly worded note, signed
phoebe Knapp
Mother was taken with it at once, and
as she delights in ail things miserable
because she can make them feel better.
she was especially captivatel by the clos
ing sentence, which ran: Having re-
Gently met with 4 bereavement, the rest
and quiet you offer will be great boon
to me-"
Widow. likely" said father, as we
read this note aloud in his presence flor
the fifth time).
Miss or Mrs. katie?" asked mother.
we both knew the signature by
heart. yours sincerely, Phoebe Knapp
nm sure | don't know. | can't read
between the lines l answered, rather
| 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 stranger
whom we had never seen, and wherever
| turned l could not help seeing a silent
figure in Il long Grape veil lifting its hand
and commanding me to do this or that,
upon which | was already engaged,
However, we We're all ready for her at
last, and when father came from the
station and deposited upon the front pi-
azza tiny little woman of about 90
years of age, with big, frightened gray
eyes, and delicate, sensitive features, a
creature that would have looked small
alongside a robust child of 1O-the con-
trast between this little object and the
figure of my imagination
was so great that [ almost had hit of
Mysteries on the spot. l took refuge in
fight, while mother cooed and eoddled
the poor DEAR and took her up to her
element, while l had all my notions to
readjust to existing circumstances. My
flights of fancy will be the death of me
some day, father says.
| caught mother on the stair moment
as they were coming down and breathed
softly into her ear, Miss or Mrs.?" -.
Il don't know. l couldn't find out
answered mother in that awful stage
whisper of hers that sends me nearly
into fits whenever she tries it. But our
boarder did not seem to notice. l made
her Mrs. Knapp, and then she can cor
rect me if she doesn't like it. I've al
ways heard that it gives a middleaged
married woman much greater offense to
be called Miss than it does to address
a single sister as Mrs, so here goes
Il hope you had pleasant trip down,
M-m-,' said pleasantly, allowing my
voice to die away on the last syllables
as found my courage oozing out at the
tip of my tongue. | couldn't say Mrs.
Knapp after all, to save me.
noticed with much amusement that
father and mother avoided the pitfall as
as I did. during that first
meal, and We all went out on the piazza
afte, supper 10 en- JOY the sunset. Here
our guest set our minds at rest.
How James would have enjoyed this"
exclaimed she, softly, as if half to her
self. Mother nodded so vigorously and
behind her back that | was
afraid she would notice it, and so has
tened to nod in reply, We knew now.
She was widow. He loved to sit be-
side me and watch the setting sun, even
in the city, she wont on softly. ut
seems terribly lonely without him. Oh,
if could only have brought him out into
such a peaceful place as this, he might
be alive now! That last hot spell was
so hard on him. l thought perhaps he
had sunstroke, but l could not tell.'
Mothers eyes filled with sympathetic
tears, and as she laid her hand gently
over that of Mrs. Knapp she inquired
How long is it since he died,
lear?''
six weeks answered the widow.
He was all that had i'll the world, and
l have been so lonely ever since. But,
please, Mrs. Curtis, l cannot talk about
it quite yet
Nevertheless, she did talk about it"
quite good deal in the days that fol-
lowed with the effect that l, who was a
widea wake girl at that time, peculiarly
susceptible to first impressions, imbibed
an impression of the late Mr.. Knapp's
that was not altogether
to the departed gentle
man.
Poor dear!" said she, one day. HE
tried so hard to speak. If he only could
have told his wants. We never asked
her any questions. We just let her talk
on, feeling that this was kindest and
best. I inferred from this last remark
that her husband had been affected by
paralysis, particularly as she had said
on another occasion, Il used to sit at
my window and James sat at his, sew
ing, he looking out of the windows at
what was going on in the street. He
seemed perfectly happy as long as was
there. But then we can never tell. I
often wish now that had done more for
him, or could have learned better what
be wanted.'
What did the physicians say or do?"
| asked
'"Tbey said it was the breaking up of
the system by old age. never felt that
they quite understood the case"
Poor little thing! Married to an aged
paralytic and yet regretting his death as
the brea liking up Of the one tie on earth!
What dc*olation. what utter desolation
I!c-. Ca, ::".lEct to lu:>. l was moved to
take her in my arms and weep with her,
which was great deal for me.
Not only was the late Mr.. Knapp old
and imbecile and paralytic, but he had
other traits which must have rendered
him highly Objectionable as daily COM
panion.
"Just about this time every afternoon
l always gave James a bowl of cream
with fresh sponge cake in it: He would
not touch it unless it was in a certain
bowl nor unless it was fresh from the
bakers. And yet they tried to persuade
ME that he didn't know anything"
From which / inferred that, added to
his other peculiarities, the late Mr..
Knapp possessed an extremely unpleas-
ant temper.
"And, Oh, Mrs. Curtisv' she walled,
they wouldn't let me bury him in the
family lot" From which I inferred that
the dear departed had come of a family
of unpleasant tempers. Such heathenish
doings I never heard tell of. Surely,
however they felt toward him during his
life, nothing but fiend would deny him
the family resting place after he was
dead!
But forgot my interest in Mrs. Knapp
and her affairs by reason of some of my
own. I had a delightful letter from Tom
Dixon, saying he would be with us for a
week. Now Tom was a favorite cousin
of mine, and l spent good deal of time
furnishing up my little belongings SO that