Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-10
CHAPTER IL.
~ Dat >E $kA En -: lxx

/ The Rest Of the Family.
1t was Saturday morning when the
four young parsonage girls arrived II
Mount Mark The elderly Mise!
Avery, next door, looked out of theil
windows. pending their appearance OF
Main street,-with interest and con
Germ. 1t was serious matter, this
having whole parsonage full o.
young girls so close to the old Avery
mansion. To be sure, the Averys had
a deep and profound respect for min
isterial households, but they were
Episcopalians themselves, and in all
their long lives they had never SO
much as heard of widower rector
with five daughters, and no house
keeper. There was something blood
curdling in the bare idea. e., -,
The Misses Avery considered Pru.
dence herself rather a sweet, silly little
thing. ..s@
"You have some real nice people in
the Methodist church, Miss Dora had
told her. 81 dare say you will find
few of them very likeable." ..-a- j.
"Oh, I will like them ALL" said Pru.
dence quickly and seriously. ...
Like them ALL" echoed Miss Dora.
"Oh, impossible!" @.
mot for u.s." said Prudence. 1--WE
are used to 1t, you know. We always
like people" H.. -,
That is ridiculous" said Miss Dora.
ut is absolutely impossible. One
can't! OF course, as Christians, we
must tolerate, and try to help every
one. But Christian tolerance and
love are" ".-
ooh, excuse me, but-really I can't
believe there is such thing as Chris
tian tolerance" said Prudence firmly.
There is Christian love and-that is
all we need" Then leaning forward:
What do you do, Miss Avery, when
you meet people you dislike at very
first sight?"
Keep away from Them" was the
grim reply.
Exactly! And keep on disliking
them" said Prudence triumphantly.
Its very different with us. When we
dislike people at first sight, we visit
them, and talk to them, and invite
them to the parsonage and entertain
them with our best linen and silver
ware, and keep on getting friendlier
and friendlier, and-first thing you
know, we like them fine! It's per.
fectly splendid rule, and it has. never
failed us once. Try 1t, Miss Avery.
do! You will be enthusiastic about 1t,
l know" t.- "
So the Misses Avery concluded that
Prudence was very young and couldn't
seem to quite outgrow it! She was
not entirely responsible. And they
wondered, with something akin to an
agony Of fear, If the younger girls
had it, too" Therefore the Misses
Avery kept watch at their respective
windows, and when Miss Alice cried
excitedly, Quick! Quick! They are
coming!" they trooped to Miss Alice's
window with speed that would have
done credit to the parsonage girls
themselves. .
First came the minister, whom they
knew very will by this time, and con.
sidered quite respectable. He was
lively, as was to be expected of
Methodist minister, and told jokes.
and laughed at them! Now, a comical
rector-oh, a very different matter-it
wasn't done, that's all! At any rate,
here came the Methodist minister,
laughing, and on one side of him trip
ped a small earnest looking maiden,
clasping his hand and gazing alternate.
ly up into his face and down at the
stylish cement sidewalk beneath her
feet. On the other side was Fairy.
The Misses Avery knew the girls by
name already-having talked much
with Prudence.
Such a Fairy" gasped Miss Mill.
cent, and the others echoed the gasp,
but wordlessly.
Ito be continued) ...