The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1911-10-26

deringly; then Mr. Prendergast said:
You are very young to be widow"
81 widow"
Eyes; father said you were a widow"
eff you don't let that father of yours
alone l don't see how we shall ever
get on at all. / shall be pleased to
welcome you into the family. but as to
your relations, l don't see Why
But you don't mean to marry a
man and have nothing to do with him.
How can that beY
~ marry a man! What are you talk
ing aboutY'
"About your proposed union with my
father
Goodness gracious! I'm talking
about your union with my mother"
"Well, I'll be hangedp'
There must be some misunderstood
ing"
Il should say So"
II received a letter yesterday from
mother announcing her engagement to
Mr.. Prendergast, and she said he
was coming at once to make my &C.
quaintance.
And | received q letter from IA
Their announcing his engagement to a
widow named Mary weather, and he
asked me to call upon her. Here Is
the letter; see for yourself. Mrs.
Maryweather will be at home on the
16th'"-
1.-The Goth. You've got it wrong
That is not /; it's g."
by Jove! believe you're right"
"And here is my letter from mother.
She says her fiance is thirty years old.
See: 'Mr. Prendergast is not an old
man. On the contrary, he has the &C.
tivity of a man of thirty"
THAT doesn't mean that he's thirty.
1t means he's spry as man OF thir-
IT,"
Upon my wordl How stupid Of
mel"
$50 it's your mother my father is to
marry
And your father that my mother is
to marry"
''Quite a difference"
II should say so. It's fortunate that
we discovered the mistake In time"
''ln time for whatY'
"Why, you see. mother wrote me to
welcome her fiance into the family,
and might have been demonstrative
with my stepfather that was to be-
II wish you had been.'
''That's very naughty Of you"
There wouldn't have been any
harm SO long as you thought / was to
be your stepfather and you my step
mother"
How ridiculous! in one thing I'm
disappointed"
"What's that?"
"Why, mamma writes that her
fiance's going with us to Italy In the
autumn. Will hep
well, won't hep
"But l think you would be much
more''-
"You think l would be more availa-
ble-for what purpose"
Neither mamma nor / speak Ital-
IAN"
Father does; so do l."
'"Ihen there's the baggage"
"Father won't attend to that; he
hates details"
Il knew mamma was saying all that
for a purpose. Who is to look after
the baggage. l should like to knowY'
How would DOR
"You're not going to marry mother"
And you're not going to marry IA
ther." X
Don't you see-mother wrote that
your father. speaking Italian and being
very active, would take all that Off
our hands,"
Father is fifty-six, and he has a
bad knee. He walks with a cane.'
Mother put the best foot forward
in the matter, didn't sheY'
"You mean the best knee forward.
Or, rather. she forgot to mention the
knee and the cane'
Il suppose So"
They both smiled.
Il don't see any way to keep father
from making trouble In your family in
this affair except by offering to join
the party and serve as courier"
THAT wouldn't do it. A party made
up OF two old persons and two young
ones would be failure. Ii an elder
ly man and woman usurp the place of
young persons by getting married they
should take care of themselves. It
would be absurd for US to go on such
a wedding trip"
"Of course it would"
81 think I'll leave mother to be taken
care of by her husband with his bad
knee and his cane"
And r. father has been pretending
that he is able to look after baggage
in country where every railroad off
cial Is bloodsucker and the porters
are robbers he can get out of the
scrape as best he can"
The young man rose to go. "Goodby,
mamma" he said smiling.
"Goodby. papa"
my dear" wrote Mrs. Maryweather
a few months after the date Of her