The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1918-01-05
Miss Doane's
Mealer
By il. Harbour

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copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Union.l
Mrs. Semira Doane was out in her
front yard counting her Shirley pop
pies and admiring their almost in
finite variety.
mo two Of them seem to be exactly
the same tint, and never had such
lot Of them out at one time before"
said Miss Semira. She loved flowers
and nearly every foot of her small
front yard was laid out In 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
lady-in-the-green and bleeding hearts
better than any "others" she had ever
seen.
Miss Semira was so small and
fragile looking, with such delicatefy
tinted pink cheeks, and such fluffy vel
low hair that she looked quite like a
flower herself as she moved about in
her little garden in a blue lawn dress
with little white flowers in it, and her
lace-trimmed snowy white apron in
which there was neither spot nor wrin-
kle. She was STOPPING over picking a
dead leaf or two from one OF her
geraniums when q shrill, rasping voice
startled her by saying.
slow nice your flowers do look, Miss
S'mira; an how sweet they smell. I
can smell them clean over to my
house when it's still or when the wind
is blcwin' 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 q 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 your" 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. I want
to know if you wouldn't be willing to
take a mealer." Co.,
"A mealer, Mrs. Sampson?"
eyes. You see I've got chance to
let my big front room upstairs II
can find a place for the person that
wants it to take their meals. I can't
undertake to give anyone their meals
with my rheumatic pesterin' me the
way it does, an Sampson havin' II
when don't. Then I amt no cook,
anyhow. But I do want to let that
big front room, an this person Will
take it If I can find mealin' place
near by, an here you are right acrost
the road an Twin all alone, an you as
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 it wants your roomT
swell, it's q gentleman-but there
YOU needn't look so scairt. Miss S'mira
for it amt young gentleman nor 9
middle-aged gentleman, but real nice
fatherly-loOkin' old gentleman tina,
there'd never be mite O. talk 'Dou'
you givin' his meals to. He must be
old enough to be your father, an
don't know when I've seen a nicer ap
pearin' man. I'd sight ruther have
him around than nine out o. ten rus
sy, fault findin' wimmen. Don't yor
say no until you think-it all over"
Miss Semira thought it all over witt
the result that two days later Mr.
Jared Lyster found himself seated al
Miss Doane's daintily set table. Miss
Semira had often been heard to say
II don't mind any part of hvin'
alone so much as mind eating m!
meals all by myself. Ii l just nat
someone that was interesting ant
pleasant to talk to at meal-time
wouldn't mind the rest. l would tak'
a mealer if got good chance"
Mrs. Sampson had gone a trihe be
yond the truth when she had said tina
Jared Lyster was "real fatherl.
looking old gentleman" Miss Semira''
mental comment when she saw hin
was:
"Why, I don't believe that he Is
day over fifty-ive."
Miss Semira's own years numbere'
forty-fve. She had expected her meal
er to be a man Of at least sixty-fv'
and possibly seventy years of age, blu
she did not voice her surprise to Mrs
Sampson. She accepted the situation
in q manner that manifested her goo
sense, and she said to herself:
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