The evening Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1902-1902, 1902-09-06
PETER.
BY BERTRAND WAUGH,

dent! There is possibility of on,
in a casual introduction, in each in
vitation we receive, in every wore
we exchange, yet weeks and months
pass before we recognize the rea
Importance of what has passed. 81
when l saw Peter for the first time
l failed to see that he was to pune
tuate an important period in my
career. The one and only impress
sion had of him at the moment
was that he was the most unremu.
nerative return l had seen for ar
investment of seven shillings ant
six pence in a dog license.
That, of course, was matter
that more nearly concerned Aunt
Mary. l accept both Aunt Mary
and her dog with the philosophical
resign that dutiful nephew should
always display.
To describe my mothers half
sister would be matter of some
difficulty. In my earlier years wher
she took a great interest in my
scholastic progress, | had discovered
in her appearance remarkable
similarity to perfectly balanced
second grade drawing copy. This
irrevereqt reflection ! haYe never
been able to forget, and 1 am re-
minded of it everytime l see her
standing with her hands loosely
linked in front of her and her hair
parted precisely down the centre.
Her ideas have stood Still for forty
years while those around her have
changed,so people say that she is old
fashioned and eccentric To some of
us it has been left to discover that
she is both generous and sincere. Be-.
sides all this, she has money--lots Of
money--and weak heart. | speak
OF these two things in the same breat h
us it has been lcng customary in the
family circle to do 50.
The possession of money is regard
ed, | believe, as Il species Of Compen-
sation for SO dangerous an affection.
Perhaps this Is the correct view Of
it.
pay Aunt Mary two visits an.
nual'v, aud twice year, when
travel northwards, do | wonder why
she Still lives at Wilmington. | can
see nothing beautiful in the distant
forest Of chimucys Chat mlrk out
Manchester, and as for weather the
place must especially tend to pro5a.
gate profanity.
The particular visit wish to speak
of took place last June. arrived
on Friday 10 lnnch, and as the crct-
ct at Old TrlticrI Wa; at Ill inrer-
csling stage, it rlinel the whole
day.
We had couple of hours sunshine
tile next day, but Sunday was occu,
pied in u very creIltlble sacJnl eli
ton Of the il)ol, 50, church being
an impo 5,ibility, L had to fail back
on Aunt Mary's library AMI "petcr'
for amusement.
| studied Peter by extending him
the tips OF my pltent leather, to
sna"Iat. Taking the term in its
widest possibilities, one woull be
justified in calling him Il dog When
| had seen him on the sofa for the
first time | HAD mistaken him for IL
detached portion Of sllcopskin rug.
Atfut said he WIS u York shire
terrier or q silver terrier l forgot
which and spoke very deeply of
breed and other things, to all Of
which l assentou unreservedly.
He was q mass of tangled and
rusty colorol hair. fifteen inches
over all, and il you looked at hun
attentively you could stinguish
through tue thick matted covering
a pair OF eyes and a mouth. Taking
him aitogetherh he was a most mourn
full looking object.
Aunt adored him. He hal a silk
li.ned basket to sleep in AMI the
choicest pieces from her plate to
tempt his appetite. On his birth
day and one or two other festive
days of the year he was INDUCED
with whole tin Of sardines, and if
one is to- be guided by aunt's touch
ing description of how he would
afterwards lick at the empty tin,
Peter must be regarded as an cpl
cure of the first rank.
Peter dislikel me. He would
herald my approach with a series
Of convulsive wrigSles, accomplni-
MED by spits, snarls, and other OBJ
servatiOns OF the same order. He
looked at his best when enthroned
in the lap of his mistress about six
inches below her crochet needles.
About once every ten minutes
Peter, Aunt and the crochet work
be mixed in one long embrace, and
eloquent love phrases on the one
side would call forth frantic licking
from the other.
From this it may be surmlsed
what dismay was caused by the
sudden disappearance of Peter.
There were searches and tears,
followed by more tears aud more
searches. l constructed theories,
and the cook enlisted the aid OF her
tiancc, who was a sergeant at the
local police station, but neither Of
these things was productive. Aunt
Mary turned TO me for aid.
"Aunt, said resolutely. "Rely
on me. l will find him.
The next morning ! spent in
searching the streets near st. AIMS
Square. l saw no dogs like Peter,
but a man IN Il scedy brown over
coat offered to sell me little pug
with very weary expression. He
told me that his wife was i'll, aud to
part with the little chap would
almost break his heart. Having
seen the same style OF seedy man in
Eonl ste o.