out one, never giving the
matter a thought; in fact, she had been momentarily expecting that this
would happen. Now she would have the bliss of taking him home in all the
perfection of his toilet as she first beheld him.

From that moment she grew more conversational, and his utterance became
less jerky, until, when they finally drove up back of the long red brick
railway station at Oaklands, a little before noon, she had not only given
him a synopsis of local history, but was, in her excitement, vainly
trying to recollect what day of the week it was, so that she might judge
of the dinner probabilities at home, also if it would be safe to ask him
to stay. Fortunately remembering that she saw her father beheading
chickens the night before, which guaranteed a substantial meal, she
decided it was an absolute duty.

As L. Middleton emerged from the baggage room in a fresh collar, even
higher than the other, he threw an ornamental bottle of violet water into
Fannie's lap to keep company with the horseshoe. Immediately Hope arose
at the combination, and Settled under the left folds of Fannie's pink
shirt waist; for Middleton seems a distinguished name to one who has been
called Penney for twenty-eight years, and romance had never died in the
heart under the pink waist for the reason that it was only at this moment
being born.

On arriving at home, Fate continued to prove kind. Mrs. Penney was
inspired to ask the guest to "stop to dinner," without any hints or
gesticulations being necessary, which might have marred the first
impression. Not only did the chickens appear at the table, where no
canned food was present, but there was a deep cherry pie as well, which
was eaten with peculiar relish by the commercial traveller, accustomed to
the awful fare of New England country hotels, where he was often obliged
to use his own samples to fill gaps. He gazed about at the comfortable
kitchen, and won Mamma Penney by praising the food and saying that he was
raised on a farm. Father Penney took a hasty bite in the buttery, and
soon disappeared to rescue his goods from the highway. He was always
considered something of a drawback to the matrimonial prospects of his
daughters; for, as his nose indicated, he had a firm, not to say
combative, disposition, and frequently insisted upon having not only the
last but the first word upon every subject, so that Fannie regarded his
going in the light of a special providence.

After dinner the t