The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1878-06-18


| four elder all seemed of the same age.
They were of the same slender build,
with clouds of faxen hair flying over
their shoulders, the same pale blue eyes,
the same colorless skins. For long
time Erasmus could fix on no point of
difference by which to distinguish them,
but after while he learned to classify
the four as "Sisters," "The Twins"
and "Hilda." The twins were always
together, inseparable as Castor and
Pollux. "Sister" was the central star
OF the little ones. They were forever
ciinging to her skirts and following to
help OF hinder in her many household
tasks, rom washing windows and hang
ing. out clothes, to sweeping the door
steps in the early morning. Hour after
hour Erasmus heard the hum of her
wheel. He had seen it carried in with
the other things-a genuine old-fash-
toned spinning wheel, which an anti
quarian might have coveted for its
quaintness, but which "Sister" valued
for its use. 1t was she who took the lead
in reforming the garden, where disorder
and neglect were given place to thrift
and neatBess, grounded and pursley to
peas and beats, and where pot-herbs,
pinks, and multitudinous cabbages jos
tied each other in true German fashion.
"Sister" took the lead, but every one
helped. Even the little ones could weed
and dibbie holes for the insertion OF
infant roots, and in the cool of the day,
the sedate old pastor himself would
descend from his study, knife in hand,
to prune, not in the most skilifui man
ncr, the fruit trees whose best days had
gone by with the best days of the old
house round which they grew.
Hilda was the prettiest of the sister
hood. Her blue eyes had the advantage
Of q fringe of long golden lashes; her
hair waved naturally through all its pale
| length there was a tinge of color in her
fairness which deepened at times into
lovely pink. People in general might
not have called her very pretty, but
Erasmus learned to think her so-and in
fact a girl must be plain indeed not to
look pretty in the picturesque frame
work of an old gardener, ivy-hung and
bosky, with glints of sunshine and dusks
of shadow. Erasmus watched her fit
in and out and to and fro, her veil Of
faxen hair blown by the wind, her plant
figure in its plain black frock looking
slender as fairy's, and presently, to his
surprise, he found himself in love with
Hilda. He had not meant it, but how
could it be helped? A young mans fancy
is easily caught, and most easily of all
when, as in this case, he is lying on his
oars for while, and has not much to do
Had Hilda noticed him? He could
not tell. She had never given look, SO
far as he could detect, nor had her Sis
tiers. But good deal can be seen with
out looking, and it is so little in the
course of human nature that sever girls,
with fourteen eyes between them, should
not see young man who sits at win
dow and gazes out at them all day, with
only fence between, that | am inclined
to think they did.
Meanwhile, though he knew their
names and was familiar with their habits,
Erasmus had never exchanged . word
with his new neighbors. 1t was not
from want of inclination; but he was a
modest follow, and truly he did not
know how to begin. Pastor Lubke was
= strict" father. Be sober, be Wig
liant" was his motto. He had no sym
pathy with the frivolities of youth,
among which frivolities, it was rumored,
young men were conspicuously included.
Erasmus studied his stern, placid face
from behind the blind, and saw nothing
to encourage him there. And SO, while
thus his "hopes belied his fears, his
fears his hopes belied," the days went
on. He made no progress, and might
have made none for much longer time,
had not Fate taken pity and sent her
messenger to assist matters. That mes
senger was-a monkey!
The monkey appertained to a hand
organ, and the man who ground the
ofgan-andd the monkey also, it is to be
feared--sent him in to levy the custom
airy black mail on the Lubke sisters
who, sitting on the doorstep, in the
pear-tree shade, were knitting stockings
Of the blue yarn spun by SISTERS"
wheel. The sudden apparition of the
diminutive messenger, in his red coat
and cooked hat, startled the simple
family, whose lives heretofore had In
eluded few monkeys. They jumped UP,
screamed; Hilda dropped her thimble;
Bena and Nadnul chung to each other;
even Sister" lost her presence of mind
fer for !. moment. Tihs monkey cmboid.
ened by their evident fear, danced, chat
tered, and, suddenly bouncing upon
Hilda's thimbie, ran across the garden
with it in his paws. Hilda pursued, but
the monkey ran fastest, and, scaling the
wall with great agility, would have got
of with his prize, had not Erasmus, who
had realized the situation and hurried to
the rescue, caught him as he reached the
top and held him tight.
!" What shall / do with him? II he asked.
grasping the scratching, biting prisoner
| firmly.
Don't hurt him!-oh, don't hurt
him! said Hilda. :" It's only my thin
bic. He stole it, so I ran after him."
:" Here Il Is said Erasmus, handing
her the thimble; he dismissed the mon
key, with an unseen kick to its owner.
Oh, thank you! y replied Hilda,
shyly. She walked away as soon as she
said it, and did not look to see whether
Erasmus went or staid, but all the same
he felt a joyful sense that ice was broken.
1iiid5 50 ii WIS; for common gratitude
compelled Hilda into recognition after
that, and forced her to bow in return for
the low bend and the raised hat with
which Erasmus met her. Even father
would say must, was her secret refec-
ton. Common politeness made her
linger to exchange a few civil words
when this obliging neighbor leaned over
the fence to admire the garden or the
sunset. Gradually, as her shyness wore
away, these liingerings grew longer.
Now and again she ventured to raise her
eyes and Ex.s.sssss. 4hs,z Eli 4,i.,x,