The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1866-03-14
MISCELLANY.
.. From Lomloh Society.J
THE TWO VALENTINES,


My sister and | have known poverty
not born nor bred to it, we were scarcely
yet women grown, when we found our
selves alone in the world with poverty for
our Inheritance, and l. in ecd. with
nothing TO save me from starvation save
Ellinor's courage, energy and patience.
We had tried many methods by which
TO earn our daily bread and clothes 10
cover US The work began in hope to
end in disappointment, the supply ever
exceeding the demand, and dark and Bit
ter February found Us endeavoring 10
keep the wolf from the door by the man
ufaciure of those pretty. fanciful foolish
triiles which 1t l. the fashion Of the rlch
and happy TO dispense on the, day of St.
Valentine.
Eliinor had fine taste and drew very
pretily, and between us we had managed
TO please highly the kindhoartcd shop
keeper who first offered 10 employ us in
making valentines; but. alas the demand
WAS exhausted sooner than our taste and
invention, and when our last order WAS
executed we had SO much remaining ma
terial that we resolved to exercise our
taste and skill to the utiermost in the
manufacture of some real masterpiece,
sight of which should gain US orders else
where, or at least command sale for
themselves.
How well can recall, TO this day. the
making of those half.dozen valentines
We had really made money by our pre-
vious ventures in this line, and were
young and hopeful enough to be easily
elated by little good fortune. We
laughed and talked over our work as if
poverty had bade us farewell forever.
''Thcrc " said |, putting the finishing
touch TO one of our best efforts, and lay
ing it down before her-''tlIere, Nell
would you not like to have some one send
you jut surl valentine as that, my
dear' For my part, should consider
the sender irresistible
Eilinor, looked, admired, and laid it
carefully away beside the other completed
| ones.
''Valentincs are not for us."
1t was Il bitter cold morning, with fire.
quent showers of sleety rain, when we
both set forth, our valentines carefully
packed in box, 10 try and dispose Of the
delicate wares in such shops as seemed to
us likely TO invest in them We were
hopeful as we entered the first, not utter
ly dumped as we departed unsuccessful.
and by the time we had entered, think,
the sixth, dcspaiiing, but resolved not to
give up while Chance remained.
1T was fashionable Wcst-end shop, as
| remember, and the warm, mellow at
mosphere, as we entered, penetrated our
damp garments with a grateful sense of
comfort Two gentlemen stood at the
handsome counter, inspecting the valen-
fines that the smarlly dressed, smiling
young lady behind it was exhibiting to
them, the younger Of the two with cur
ious kind Of dissatisfied eagerness in his
boyi'h face, The other with goo lnalured
assumption of interest in what his friend
evidently had at heart.
noticed all this while Ellinor was dis.
playing our poor little wares to the other
young lady,. equally well dressed, but not
quite so smiling, who came forward to Us
us we entered, and was still looking,
and our valentines still strewed the cuun-
ter, while the young lady had departed
10 ask instructions from the master, of the
shop, when the elder of the two gentle
men turned suddenly round and saw the
contents Of our box spread out.
''llallo," said he, "~hy here are lot
NOR. Tom, come, ! think you will be
hard to please it these are not UP to the
mark and he pulled them all towards
him, before Ellinur or the young lady be-
hind the counter could interfere if they
wished.
'.Why the forget e-nots and silver
Cupids are the most killing things iha:
we have seen yet perfectly irresislable,
by Joye And this pretty wreath of no.
y berries that lifts up, that shows a tiny
looking glass underneath-there' com.
plimcnt for you! perfcctions of every
kind set forth in the verses, you know
I.0pk in the glass and you behold 'em
all Why, Tom, You couldn't hope to
beat that F"
lie ended with n lu h that matched
his kind fr ank face, and which like that,
seemed to draw one towards him as 1t
were, and then glanced at Ellinor, who
was coloring little.
"Did you make these pretty things p
be said, speaking very gently. "By
George, what taste you have you must
let me have one Of The holly berries. /
have never seen anything so pretty"
| lie dropped his voice and looked again
at Ellinor ] was tho youngest, yet
saw the compliment, which she never
dreamed of approprialing
"rhe thing is for s.lc. sir" she said,
simply, and putting it into its cover laid
it on the counter before him. With some
awkwardness, and rising color on his
own face now, hc took out sovereign
and handed il 10 her. We wanted mon.
ey, yes, sorely, Heaven knows, and yet
sudden impulse which l could scarcely
resist, almost made me dash forward and
snatch tho money fran her hand. Not
noticing that, or n.y face, into which a
burning color had flown, Ellinor turned
towards the young lady and asked her to
oblige her with the change in SILVER.
| ''Nn, indeed" the gentleman called
out hastily, ''there is no peed of change.