The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-08
EVENING STORY
Aunt James Wistaria.
(By Hilda Morris.)


deceptive appearance of size. 1t
was not large house. and it stood on
corner lot opposite an enormous
new apartment building which quite
dwarfed it by comparison The apart
ment was SO new and glittering, SO
proudly diselaim it of anything that
w s not up to date that it would have'
made Aunt James house look almost
shabby had it not been for one thing
This one thing WIS the glory and the
splendor of the old brown houSe-a
huge wistaria vine that covered one
whole sid, clambering up from the
latticed porch below to the iron tai-
comics of the upper dormer windows.
1t was the largest wistaria in the city,
people drove by on purpose to look at
it when it was1n blom.
Kitty 'Carow, the young niece who
had come to be Aunt James compan-
ion, did not like the old house. 1t
made her homesick for the tight little
New York apartment she had left,
where there were no dim old rooms
with faded rugs and musty books. She
used to look rather longIngly at the
new apartments across the way.
Aunt Jane" she ventured to say
one day. why don't you build apart
ments here? You could put large
building on this lot"
Aunt Jane lifted Mortified hands. .
tone of whitening scorn. DO. you
think 1 would dig up the wistaria for
apartments"
And ve-.l soon Kitty found that the
wistaria was the very soul of the
house, almost it's reason for being.
Aunt Jane fairly worsh,oed the wis
taria. The fact that it darkened some
of the rooms did not matter, the huge
vine was too sacred to be trimmed.
Kitty used to si- behind its shade and
Jr1vu vii 70 hA
she+-rs on. it..
But very soon Kitty found that the
wistaria had its uses. There was a
young man in the apartment build
ing across the way. a very handsome
young man. He came and went in
huge gray motor, apparently al
ways in a hurry, always looking very
important. Kitty learned that he was
a physician. By using the wistaria
as a screen she could watch his COM
ings and goings quite closely and
, without being seen. 1t was very
lonely for Kitty at Aunt James; she
had no young friends in the town.
Aunt Jane did not approve of what
she termed "gadding." So Kitty did
not meet any young people. Before
long she found herself watching
eagerly. twice day, for the young
looked up at the tiers of windows
and wondered which was his-then
blushed at herself for wondering. He
used to look over at Aunt James
sometimes, too-admiring the wis
tafia, no doubt.
When it came time for the wistaria
to bloom Aunt Jane put on sort of
holiday manner. She donned her best
gown every afternoon and sat on the
Veranda where she could be seen,
rocking gently, by the people who
passed by stopped to admire the
1 ~
Kitty put on a white frille.- frock and
sit there too. The slim dark-haired
girl looked like a quaint figure. from
an old daguerreotype, quite in keeping
with the house. More than one re-
marked upon the picture that she
made. Kitty saw the young doctor
look over once or Iwice, and as he
did so she felt a wave of color sweep
her cheeks, she bent her head lower
over her embroidery.
One afternoon Kitty came in from
the veranda to find Aunt Jane lying
on the floor in the sitting-room, groan-
ing.
'I was trying to straighten a pic
ture and 1 fell" she explained. 81
think my legs broken! Get doc
tor, quick!
Kitty helped Aunt Jane to the
couch. and as there were no servants
in the house she flew across the street.
AS luck would have it young Doctor
Avery was just getting out of his car.
The girl in her white ruffles sped up
to him breathless.
Aunt Janet" she said. please
come at once!"
Doctor Avery found that the leg
was not broken after all, but he lost
no time in getting Aunt Jane to bed
and ordering a nurse from the hos
pital. The fall had given the old lady
a decided shock, but was nothing seri-
he no oil rio t1f in in,
a very short time.
However, as the days went by and
Aunt James accident became a thing
of the past young Doctor Avery still
found it necessary to continue his
, daily visits. Only one might have
thought that Kitty and not Aunt Jane
was the patient. One afternoon he
/ and Kitty sat on the veranda shell
tered by the huge wistaria vine.
It's a wonderful vine." Doctor
Avery remarked during a sudden
pause in their conversation.
Kitty nodded without enthusiasm
She had suffered much inconvenience
and loneliness because of that vine;
! she did not have a deep affection
for it.
! And a wonderful old house." he
went on, land you are a wonderful
girl, Kitty. Do you know it was the
wistaria that first attracted me to you :?
I used to look over here and see this
quaint old place, with it's mantle of
green leaves, and think that it looked
J like a stage already set for beauti-
full maiden with smooth dark hair
| like 'Evangeline'S- And then one day
1 looked over and saw the maiden,
| just as 1 had pictured her, only far
sweeter and more beautiful. And then
when came to know her-Oh, Kitty,
! 1 have no right to ask it, but could you
marry me? Even tho it would mean
! leaving this lovely old place for an
ugly new one-a snug little apartment
across the way? If you onlycould--'
I-could," whispered Kitty, and
her answer brought his arm around
1 her
After he had gone she sat alone in
the Ieaf-shadows, dreaming
The wistaria,' she unused; he
noticed me first because of the wis