It -- it would be hardly proper . '' Peggy and I liked Mr. Malcolm MacPherson very much . So did father . We were glad that he seemed to think Aunt Olivia perfection . He was as happy as the day was long ; but poor Aunt Olivia , under all her surface pride and importance , was not . Amid all the humour of the circumstances Peggy and I snuffed tragedy compounded with the humour . Mr. Malcolm MacPherson could never be trained to old-maidishness , and even Aunt Olivia seemed to realize this . He never stopped to clear his boots when he came in , although she had an ostentatiously new scraper put at each door for his benefit . He seldom moved in the house without knocking some of Aunt Olivia 's treasures over . He smoked cigars in her parlour and scattered the ashes over the floor . He brought her flowers every day and stuck them into whatever receptacle came handiest . He sat on her cushions and rolled her antimacassars up into balls . He put his feet on her chair rungs -- and all with the most distracting unconsciousness of doing anything out of the way . He never noticed Aunt Olivia 's fluttering nervousness at all . Peggy and I laughed more than was good for us those days . It was so funny to see Aunt Olivia hovering anxiously around , picking up flower stems , and smoothing out tidies , and generally following him about to straighten out things . Once she even got a wing and dustpan and swept the cigar ashes under his very eyes . `` Now do n't be worrying yourself over that , Nillie , '' he protested . `` Why , I do n't mind a litter , bless you ! '' How good and jolly he was , that Mr. Malcolm MacPherson !
Such songs as he sang , such stories as he told , such a breezy , unconventional atmosphere as he brought XXXXX that prim little house , where stagnant dullness had reigned for years !
Amid as at in into over than that to without