The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1917-10-18

called, gave her hat q parting tilt, and
tripped out of the house carrying a let
ter to the post 1t was addressed to
Mr.. David Sperry, at his office in the
city. He had asked her to write him
when she arrived home, and Mabel
had taken pains with the letter. She
meant to impress the gentleman with
the fact that she could express her
self In good English, and also not to
let him see too much of her feelings re-
garding him. The letter must be sim
ply friendly and dignified, for little Ma
bel was wise in her day and genera
ton.
She received very prompt answer
which evinced decided interest In
her. The correspondence proceeded
with increasing interest. Then when
he one day spoke of the hope of soon
seeing her, and limited that business
might bring him to her little village,
Mabel was seized with dreadful mis-
giving lest he should come to her very
humble little cottage with the faded
carpet, crazy quilt pillows in the old
the stove through the ceiling. 1t was
all so shabby, old-fashioned, and in
such questionable taste. But even
worse than her surroundings was the
old-fashioned, countrified aunt with her
uncultured speech, toilsome hands and
face, and Hitting clothes. How was
she ever to let David Sperry know this
was the aunt with whom she lived,
after meeting her with the fashionable
aunt who entertained so handsomely
in the city. Well, if he did come to her
home she concluded she must keep
Aunt Carr as much as possible out
of sight. She was miserably ashamed
that he should know of her humble
relative and her surroundings.
The fatal day arrived. She met
young Sperry at the station. He was
q good-looking, well-dressed man about
twenty-six, with an unmistakable city
air. The hangers-on at the station
stared. Mabel, torn between her de-
light at seeing the man she loved, and
the actual horror of taking him into
the presence of Aunt Carr and the
crazy-Quilt pillows, had strong i'm
pulse to lead him instead to the river,
suggest taking boat ride, and float
off somewhere forever out of sight of
the weather-beaten cottage with the
herself to the ordeal, and led the way.
Arrived at the house, she made no
apologies. She was too innately we'll
bred for that. But she put off the evil
moment of introducing Aunt Carr as
long as possible. When it could go no
longer she went out and brought In
the little old lady who had been per-
suaded at the last moment to remove
her checked apron. Young Sperry's
kindly tact soon made her feel so much
at home with him that she ran on glib
ly, in her characteristic idiomS of the
old-fashiOned way. Mabel was in
tensely uncomfortable, especially when
the old lady frequently called her
"Jane," and corrected herself with
apologies. Aunt Carr invited him to
supper, but having made no move to-
ward getting it, Mabel fled to the
kitchen, and prepared the very frugal
meal After supper Mabel took him
out for little stroll by the river.
There he told her the old story,
which is, after all, as young as the
dawn.
Mabel was very happy, but she
couldn't help dreading the going back
to Aunt Carr, and the effect which the
announcement might have. But he In
sisted on telling her. But Aunt Carr's
homely: my I'm glad! guess you'll
be good to her." was not so bad, after
all. Then Sperry said: snow, aunty,
you've got to promise to live with us.
All my life I've wanted to have just
the kind of an aunt your are. l won't
be happy till get one. / thought the
dear old-fashioned aunts were passed
off the earth, and here I've got you"
Then he grabbed Aunt Carr, and kissed
her. and she was so happy she cried
big tears into her old checkered apron.