The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-01-22
Miss Doane' $
Mealer
By ]. Harbour
Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaps

front yard was laid out Ia beds and
mounds. There was not weed to be
seen, and her plants looked thrifty
and bore evidence of care. The little
white house back of the flower garden
had plants in the two front windows,
and climbing vines completely covered
the small, green lattice-work porch
over the front door. All of the flowers
and plants were of the old-fashioned
varieties. Miss Semira did not care
for floral novelties" She liked her
four-o'clocks and ragged robins and
acknowledgement and bleeding hearts
better than any "others" she had ever
seen.
Miss Semira was so small and
fragile looking, with such delicateiy
tinted pink cheeks, and such fluffy yell
low hair that she looked quite like a
flower herself as she moved about in
her little garden in Q blue lawn dress
with little white flowers In 1t, and her
lace-trimmed snowy white apron In
which there was neither spot nor wrin-
kle. She was STOPPING over picking q
dead leaf or two from one Of her
geraniums when shrill, rasping voice
startled her by saying.
"How nice your flowers do look. Miss
S'mira; an how sweet they smell.
can smell them clean over to my
house when it's still or when the wind
Is blowin' In that direction. You allus
have such good luck with 'em. Flow
ers grow better for some folks than
for Others"
Miss Semira looked up and saw a
TALL gaunt woman In chocolate-col-
Ored calico dress and green and white
checked Bingham apron standing at
her gate. A red and white tennis cap
perched on one side of her iron-gray
head gave the woman a grotesque
look.
20, Mrs. Sampson, is 1t you" said
Miss Semira. "Come In, won't your
mo, it amt with while little time
as I've got to stay. Then I've left
some ginger bread in the oven. want
to know if you wouldn't be willing to
take a mealer."
"a mealer Mrs. Sappson?"
"Yes. You see I've got chance to
let my big front room upstairs If
can find a place for the person that
wants 1t to take their meals. can't
undertake to give anyone their meals
with my rheumatic pesterin' me the
way it does, an Sampson havin' it
when l don't. Then l amt no cook,
anyhow. But / do want to let that
big front room, an this person will
take 1t If / can find q mealin' place
near by, an here you are right acrost
much of born cook as you are born
flower raiser. An I've heard you say,
that you sometime got dreadful tired
o. takin' your meals all by yourself"
''Who is 1t wants your room?"
swell, it's a gentleman-but there,
you needn't look so scairt Miss S'mira,
for it amt a young gentleman nor
middle-aged gentleman, but real nice,
fatherly-lookin' old gentleman that
there'd never be a mite O. talk bout
you givin' his meals to. He must be
old enough to be your father, an /
don't know when I've seen nicer ap-
pearin' man. I'd sight ruther have
him around than nine out O. ten fus-
sy, fault-findin' wimmen. Don't you
say no until you think it all over"
Miss Semira thought 1t all over with
the result that two days later Mr..
Jared Lyster found himself seated at
Miss Doane's daintily set table. Miss
Semira had often been heard to say:
81 don't mind any part Of living
alone so much as / mind eating my
meals all by myself. If / just had
someone that was interesting and
pleasant to talk to at meal-time I
wouldn't mind the rest. Iwould take
a mealer if l got good chance"
Mrs. Sampson had gone trifie be-
yond the truth when she had said that
Jared Lyster was real fatherly
looking old gentleman" Miss Semira's
mental comment when she saw him
was:
"Why, 1 don't believe that he is
day over nIIy-uVe.
Miss Semira's own years numbered
folty-fve. She had expected her meal
err to be a man of at least sixty-five
and possibly seventy years of age, but
she did not voice her surprise to Mrs.
Sampson. She accepted the situation
in a manner that manifested her good
sense, and she said to herself:
''There's nothing for people to talk
about if he isn't as old as l thought he
was. l have lived in this town too
long for anyone to gossip about me.
He certainly is a very well-favored,
gentlemanly person, and there's moth
ing in me giving him his meals that
should set any ones tongue to wag-
ging."
Jared Lyster was childless Wild
over who had purchased small store
In the town. He was a quiet, gentle
manly man of domestic taste who, 1t
must be confessed, had no intention Of
'oing through life homeless. Like most
men he had a fondness for good meals
well served and he liked to live In an
atmosphere Of cleanliness and order.
He found this atmosphere In Semira
'Doane's pretty and well kept little
home, and the meals she served were
to his entire satisfaction.
Miss Semira, on the other hand.
found the society of Jared Lyster to
be more agreeable than she would have
do hn NunTII6 nAt
knowledge even to herself how much
she valued his presence when he had
been her "mealer" for three months.
But she found herself studying his
tastes and cooking the dishes she knew
he liked. She found herself also put
ting a red ribbon bow In her hair near
ly every day after he had casually re-
marked that red was his favorite colos
and that he liked to see the little bow
of red in her hair. She found her.
self watching for his coming and he
did not know that she often stood be-
hind the lattice work on her little
porch watching him out of sight. Nor
did she know what his thoughts were
as he walked away. He did not know
how tumultously her heart throbbed
one evening at the tea table when
he said as he slowly and carefully
folded his napkin back into It's original
creases:
"Well, Miss Semira, ! think that /
must tell you that / have decided to
make change"
I'm your buslness?" she asked with
her eyes fixed on her plate.
"Well, yes; the change I have In
mind will give me partner In my
business. But what / was going to