TALES AND SKETCHES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12480, 17 September 1904, Page 2 (Supplement)

TALES AND SKETCHES.

White Sliuittm

" It's really an' truly the most extraordinary tiing-1" said Mrs Parker, passing li r (late for a second piece of chicken, "an' the more I think of it—say, you mustn't give me ail the white meat, Mrs Wells, for I have no pieference —the more I piesoom it was the.;.wish of Providence that we should meet ajpuii

Mrs Welis, who had hers-elf reached the ■stage in her tea of canned fruit and cake, placed the wishbone on her friend's plate, and answered :. " Sure!" * '• Y-es'm," said Mrs Parker; diiectly I lit ar i old C'ockspur had rented that big house on George street I kind o' felt inr terested."

. "So did we all," murmured Miss Derilii Gunning, the hestess.' . • It- was the first remark she had made for a quarter of an- hour,- but her two visitors paid no attention. " I naturally presoomed it was a fam'ly," continued Mis Parker, " but old Cockspur told my Bert on the Tuesday morning that it was a single man. Then I naturally presoomed he'd have a sister, or a niece, or somebody, to keep house lor him, but. no 1 he arrived on the Friday all by himself, with a. stack o' baggage an' a couple o' dogs. My Bert happened to be at the depot, and seen it with his own eves."

" For the land's sake!" exclaimed Mrs Wells, letting the maple syrup drop, off her hot cake in her interest in Mrs Paikef's story of the latest- arrival at the small town of. Mapleville. " Yes'm," said that lady again, greatly enpoying herself. " Now the extraordinary, thing is this. . Who do you ladies suppose this strange : man to be ?" , Miss Gunning suggested "an English lord," but .Mrs Wells, throwing probability, to the winds, thought it might be the Governor-General of Canada.

"No!" said Mrs Parker, "he w;is poor Mr . Parker's best men when we were ried !"

The announcement fell flat. Miss Gunning paused a minute before she said, "If you're through, ladies, will you step into the parlour, where it's good an' cool ?" Mrs Parker led the way, and Mrs Well's—who was also -a widow—looked at her with some little contempt. "Poor Doctor Well's best man," she said, " always, felt enough interest in the. family to keep himself acquainted 'with its doings. This old friend of poor Mr Parker's seems to have cooled off somewhat,; if you haven't seen him since you weie married." ,

MrS Parker seated, herself in the most comfortable rocking chair in Miss Gunning's little parlour, and spread her handkerchief over her knees, preparatory to •unfolding her bundle of fancy work. She was a big, good-natured, talkative lady, in a bright lavender dress and go d eai--rings. Mrs Wells was short and sharp,.' with small bright eyes, an inquisitive nose, and ..tightly curled fringe. She was very proud of her small feet, and. wore her somewhat scant dress well above the instep on purpose to display them. Being only . thirty-five, she had the advantage of-nearly ten over her rival and best friend', Mrs'Parker. As the widow of a doctor, too, her social position was certainly superior, for Mr Parker had devolecj his. life to what was called in Maplevills " the" hardware," and his only son, Beit, was following in the footsteps ot-his father.. if either of the ladies took «inv rotice of their hostess, although she had given them a cordial welcome and an excellent meal,, for Derina Gunning was considered -."a poor piece at- conversation-." Her tiny house was the perfection of neatness. Every chair occupied a certain position in the parlour, with, a pretty rag mat on the floor in'front of it; there wece innumerable lace and silk " drapes" on the table, the bookcase 'and the piano, and the- curtains were tied back wit tobows of ribbon of a pale tint. The oilcloth -covering the passage' and stairs was waxed and"; rubbed till it- proved as dangerous to admiring visitors as a sheet of ice. Even the flower beds in the strip of lawn on eitherside of the porch looked as if each leaf and- blossom had been dusted and ar ranged by fastidious fingers. ~ " Miss Derina was quiet and meek, with i gentle, grey eyes; dull, soft hair; a worn, but still pretty figure; many wrinkles,, and a square, sharply cut chin.- Hei . habitual expression of humility, coupled with her soft voice, made people forget the possibilities of character indicated by that obstinate little chin. She w-.s considered, especially by Mrs Parker and Mrs Wells, to be something of a fool, and it showed the complexity of her nature that she encouraged them in the idea. " Guess you've noticed, ladies," she said in a meek voice, but perfectly aware of the importance of her piece ( of news,. the gentleman has commenced to paint his outside shutters—white?" " Pie!" gasped Mrs Wells. It was an exclamation that she only used in extreme agitation. _ " There's not an outside shutter in Maplevrle, or in any other, Christian town, that isn't painted green !•* exclaimed Mrs Parker. "I know it," said Miss Gunning, "but' I saw him start 'em with a, new coat' of pure white, from my yard, this very day." "Poor Doctor Wells never went, as far as that, and he was the oddest stick that ever drew the breath of life!" said Mrs Wells solemnly. " We'll step into the yard when it gets a little cooler and have a look fc'r ous-. selves," said Mrs Parker. When the sun was setting the three ladies bustled into Miss Derina's yard, .where they could plainly see the stranger's house., It was a large, rambling house, -with it wide verandah. The garden, surrounding it was a beautiful .wilderness of flowers and

bushes; the uncut grass waved gently in the warm breeze, and there was a giant lilac bush, full of blossoms, on one side of the porch. "Say!. There he is!" whispered Miss Derina, pointing to a man in his shirtsleeves, smoking a big pipe, who was just putting a ladder against the side of the house. He was tall and middle-aged, with a shock of untidy, iron-grey hair. ' ■ Miss Derina's strange story was true. Henry Kemp was actually painti"i* his outside shutters white. He cou .1 not have chosen a more effective manner to. awaken his neighbours' curiosity. The very first white shutter established his eccentricity for ever. It was the subject of -discussion at every picnic and party in the town. ■ The children made a point of running home from school by the house with white shutters: The street became a favourite stroll of lovers in the evenings. Henry Kemp was called by common consent "the man from the house with white shutteis." '

When Mrs Parker called, accompanied by her son, Bert, she ventured to criticise them. Mr Kemp, who received her 'in his big, untidy, comfortable parlour, smiled on the lady in a particularly charming Of course, he remembered hi£ old friend's wedding, and the pretty bride. " We're all gettin' on in years now, Mr Kemp," said Mrs Parker, with a pt'ance at his furrowed brow and grey hair, but very conscious of her own handsome appearance.

"I should have known yon anywhere!" said Mr Kemp, looking at her with a pleased, flattering smile in his kind, deep set eyes. "You haven't changed a bit, ma'am." " Oh, ginger! Maw not changed—haw! haw!" roared young Bert of "the hardware." Mrs Parker was gratified. "He's acting crazy about those shutters," she said to herself, " but I guess he's a real pleasant man." Henry Kemp, left to himself, shook his bead, whistled to his dog, and wandered into the leafy wilderness of his garden. He watched a hummingbird .in among the fuchsias for several minutes, but his own remairk was apparently irrelevant. " Poor old Parker!"

When Mrs Wells found an opportunity to call she asked him point blank what was his-objection to green paint. " I assure you. ma'am, that it i« only an effort towards the emancipation • of Man!" answered Mr Kemp. Both Mrs Wells and Mrs Parker determined to make Mr Kemp feel at home I id-the town. Having retired from a pros-; perous business some half a dozen years before, and spent the days of his firsts freedom travelling about the United ,States. ] he had expected to find life at Mapleville very restful and quiet, 'but never was there a greater mistake., , Society opened its doors and positively dragged him through them. All the ladies in the town called, for, in spite of his lamentable eccentricrity and grev hair; Kemp was rightly considered an eligible maft. He was elected a member of . the

canoe club and tlie tennis court by unanimous vote. The Wesl-eyan, Presbyterian and. Episcopalian Societies each considered him its own particular properly, although he did not go to eimi'uU at all. Miss Derina Gunning rarely had the honour of meeting this local lion. She was considered too insignificant to be often entertained by " Society," but irom the yard of her tiny house she watched him strolling up and down his verandah, working in his garden, or talking to the many guests who came and went, patiently welcomed, but uninvited. B As the summer waned, a certain excite- - went took (possession, of Mapleville, in consequence of a rumour that was first whispered at a party on the liver. Henry Kemp was said to be engaged to Mrs Parker. There were iliany doubts expressed on the subject, for a big minority of his friends- and admirers declared that Mrs Wells ("Mis Doctor Wells," as it- was 'considered, in-Mapleville -the correct thing to" call her) had long .'been. " going with Mr Kemp "—this phrase meaning to con-- • vey the idea of preliminary courtship. Both the ladies were flattered and discreet. Mrs Parker met the ; hints of her friends with lengthy descriptions of the cherries, fried cakes, and tomato ketchup with which she had replenished Mr Kemp's bachelor store. Mrs Wells contented herself with shrill laughter, and he repeated declaration that she wouldn't be "roasted to amuse other people.'^ There was only- one point on which the Parker and Wells factions were empliaticalled agreed—the white shutters were doomed! Indifferent to advice and unconscious of ridicule as he had proved himself to be, it would remain for the chosen widow to vanquish the eccentricity of Kemp. \ ' One evening in the late summer, when the sun was setting, Miss Derina Gunning was gathering flowers in her small garden. Her thoughts were all centred on her occupation, and she did not see her neighbour pass along the road, with his dog trotting on ahead.' He glanced at the .pi etty little figure bending over a monthly rose, slackened speed, and then- stopped altogether. There was no fence to keep him out of the garden, and Miss Dermalooked up and found him standing close to her. She was pleased and agitated. He had never paid her a visit before, and the unusual excitement brought a flush to her cheeks and brightened her soft, eyes. " SaV! I'm worried but of my life, Miss Gunnin'," was Henry Kemp's unexpected greeting, "I' can't calli my house my own. It's nothing but comp'ny, com■p'ny, comp'ny I" Miss Derina only nodded. Mrs Parker would ~ have condoled, and Mrs Wells would have argued. He observed the difference. " I'm asked here and I'm asked there! I can't refuse to let 'em in when they bring me taffy and jelly-cakes, and .truck of that- sort. Darn their tomato ketchup and canned fruit!" he burst out with whimsical wrath; "but I can't refuse it. I haven't the heart." ' " You mean you haven't the courage, •said Miss Derima. •

Henry Kemp laughed, for that was a. new idea- . . ,

"I guess you're right," he exclaimed. .Then" dropping his voice, ." Do ypu know, Miss Gunnin', I've been fightin'; for my ' liberty ever since I came here. You're the only woman—upon my soul, you're the only woman in Mapleville—who hasn't, attacked me about my shutters !" He took her hand in his, half playfully, half seriously, and held it for a minute. Slie looked at him wistfully and qrestioningly, and her strong little chin tilted upwards, and he suddenly thought—r h ! the b'indness of man! —that Miss Derina was the most simple and transparent of human beings. Her eyes grew soft, and she gave a sigh, i Henry Kemp bade her good-night hastily and strode away, with a mingled feeling of surprise, .pleasure and pity. "I can read her like a book, but she never dreams it. How different from the others 1" he thought. Miss Derina indulged in-a peculiar little smile over the monthly rose, ,and when she reached the seclusion of the parlour she burst out laughing, for some unaccountable reason, and looked at herself for some minutes in the tiny mirror. _ The following evening again saw Henry Kemp talking to Miss Derina, but as her . ! house was on the high road, and passed on his way home from bußi„„_ she invited her neighbour into the pretty, neat parlour. She urged him to' resist the officious kindness of. his friends. She

encouraged him in the enormity of canoeing on Sunday. There was not a trace of Mapleville conventionality in her words or manner.

Shs grew to listen for his steps on the wooden sidewalk, and distinguish it from that of every other passer-by. Under the influence of his firm but whimsical personality all the latent humour and charm of her character developed. By unspoken agreement—half from his hate of gossip, half from the hopes that filled her heart —Henry Kemp's visits were kept a secret frOm their mutual friends. .

The autumn crept into the winter. Dances, card parties, and an ice carnival drew the attention of Society as a whole from the movements of Kemp, but Mrs Wells and Mrs Parker never relaxed in their attentions. The former continued to offer him good advice on every occasion, and hardly a day passed without her finding some excuse to call at his house, to the constant annoyance of his elderly housekeeper ; and the latter undertook to superintend his autumn house-cleaning in spite of his violent protests and abject misery. "I'm helpless in their hands, Derina!" he exclaimed one evening, when lie was .lounging in her tiny parlour by the cheery fire, ablaze with pine cones. "If jfeu .don't come and take care of me Boon, honey, I shall find myself married to both Mrs Wells and Mrs Parker."

Miss Derina, sitting on a stool by his side, rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, and slipped her hand into his. " In the spring, Harry," she whispered; then you shall go where you like and do what you like. You shall never be bossed by a woman's tyranny again. Never! But, dear-; —" once more she- rubbed her •'cheek' against his shoulder—"you won't object to painting over your pretty white shutters, will you? I think, Harry—if you don't mind, dearest—l think I should 'like them better—green—but, of course, it doesn't matter—love—"

" Oh, Derina ! Derina !" he groaned, and then burst out laughing. Miss Derina said no-more, but it was observed with satisfaction by the town of Mapjeville that the day after returning from his honeymoon, in the spring, Mr Henry Kemp devoted his energies to painting the outside shutters of his horse a beautiful bright green.—Peggy Webling, in "M.A.P."