The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-10-23
could possibly make up his mind which


Mr.. Cummings and Mr.. Rankin took
dinner with Judge Noble and his lady
and their newly-found daughter that
day. Mr.. Rankin had never been vio-
lent admirer of the lady whom his
brother had wooed and won and wed.
He had regarded her us very nice girl
and very suitable match for Harry.
Further than that he had never commit
ted himself in his own mind in her
favor. Now that he was seated by one
whom he could not possibly have dis
tinguished from her had she been there
and similarly dressed, he began to be
sensible of charms which had quite
ESCAPED his attention before. In fine, he
went away from that dinner party a
smitten man.
1t was agreed that Mrs. Harry Rankin
should not be informed of the discovery
and return of her sister until she came
back from her bridal tour, and her
mother undertook to communicate this
arrangement to every person who would
be likely to correspond with her in the
meantime.
Mr.. George Rankin was a very fire.
quent visitor at Judge Mobiles house,
where he was so cordially welcomed
that he soon made bold to propose to
Miss Ella. He was frankly accepted
by the young lady, to the undisguised
satisfaction of her parents.
After some little demur on the part of
the young lady and her mother, It was
arranged that the wedding should come
off before the return of Harry and his
bride, which arrangements. was duly
carried out. A bridal tour was out of
leave his business during his brothers
absence. He and his bride took fur
nished house, and proceeded to estab-
lish home forthwith.
When Harry and his bride returned,
they were received by Judge Noble and
his lady at their house. AS soon as the
first rush of questions and answers be-
tween mother and daughter had sub
sided, George and his bride appeared,
and the latter was duly presented.
| Harry's astonishment at finding his
brother married to fac simile of his
own wife, though very great, was not
to be compared to the amazement of his
bride. She seemed to be confronted
with her own image in mirror. Ella,
though fully prepared for the interview,
was also strangely impressed with this
first sight of her sister. She seemed to
see her own features on another face, and
| to hear her own voice from the lips of an.
|
the extraordinary likeness of the two
ladies was astonishing and bewildering,
but to the ladies themselves it was magi-
cal and almost uncanny. 1t was at first
hard for either of them to regard her
double otherwise than as an apparition.
Harry was the first to speak. George"
said he, 81 knew you trusted my taste
more than your own, but l really did
not expect you to duplicate my wife!"
"It must-it must be Ella!" said Eva,
in suppressed tone, such as one invo[
utarily adopts when overwhelmed with
astonishment. Where-where was she
| foundp" --,e.s
| When the whole story had been duly
told to the newly-arrived, the sisters
went up to Eva's old room and there
made such changes in their toilets as de-
stroycd their previous identity. They
| then presented themselves before their
husbands, and required them each to
take his own wife in to dinner and
make no mistakes.
| Rankin & Brother were obliged to sur
render ut discretion and confess that
they could not recognize their own
| wives.
Since then the ladies have been care.
| full to dress so differently that theil
| husbands and the other members ol
their families should be able to distin
guish them, but their wonderful like
ness still causes perplexity in their large
circle of acquaintances.-S. Louis Illus
trated Magdzine.