The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-07-20
to live in this cold and unfeeling world
Ha,per's Young People.
Two of Them.

Ihey are always together" the mother
said, and she looked after them lovingly
Her little twin daughters, Lila and Lola,
even their names were twins, you see.
On certain summer afternoon, years
ago, they were coming through the din
ing-room with their arms around each
other; they had just come In from Sab
bath school and now were on their way
to mammals room.
"Oh, look !" said Lila, the sideboard.
door is open; let's shut it." So they
went with their arms around each other
to do it. "Oh, look said Lila, again,
" There is that big orange that was on
the table; nobody took it, after all. Let's
take it upstairs and eat it.
"Oh, we can't, you know, without go
ing to mamma first; she wouldn't like it /;
and besides, We each had one for dinner
just little bit of while ago.
"What if we did? 1 don't believe
mamma will care: oranges are healthy.
She never told US not to eat but one"
Slowly and gravely Lola drew her
arm away from around Lila's waist
slowly and gravely. she spoke: ella
Grahame, if you steal an orange 1 can t
stay here and see you do it,.
l don't care whether you do or not,
declared Lila, flaming into passion at
once. You are naughty, bad girl to
call me names. Just as if I was steazino,
because l take my own fathers oranges.
L shall tell mamma on you"
" 1t is stealing" said Lola, still with
the same grave, sad voice; papa didn't
say you could have it, and she turned
away and went slowly up the wide
winding stairs, looking back over her
shoulder to see If Lila hadn't repented
but no, Lila was bending down before
the sideboard, handling a great many
different things, land reaching in with one
hand for the big orange. Lola went on
to her mothers room.
Why, where is your shadow, my
dear?' mamma asked, looking up sur
prised at seeing Lola alone but the little
girl only said, "she is down stairs and
waited at her mothers side, hoping for
Lila to come.
Do you think she came? Not she. She
went directly to her own pretty room,
where she was so unaccustomed to being
without her sister that she hardly knew
herself but she sat down and ate every
bit of that orange, even to piece CT the
peel, before she got over her anger enough
to feel sorry.
1t was such little thing with which
to shadow that bright Sabbath afternoon.
1t did shadow it, though all the pleas
ure was gone out of Lilas heart. She
couldn't understand why she wanted an
orange so much, since less than two hours
before she had eateu nice one. She
went to mothers room after while,
but she sat in the big chair in the corner
instead of going and sitting beside Lola
on the couch. They went down to tea,
after while, but Lila walked on ahead
alone; and all the evening she kept away
from her sister,
" Something has come between them,
thought the mother anxiously and she
thought so still when they went upstairs
to bed, though they walked side by side.
1t was more than an hour after that, and
everybody supposed that the twins were
asleep, when mamma heard a wailing.
voice from their room.
Mamma, it said, ooh, mamma, come
quick. l feel away off; seems to me
there is great big hill between Lola and
mel"
Then the whole sad story came out,
with tears and sobs. After it had been
all talked over and forgiven, Lila, with
her hand in the mothers said, "What
made Lola seem away off, mamma, when
she was right beside me-"
"You had built up a wall between
you, dear, and the name of it was Con-
science You knew you had done
wrong, and you knew little sister thought
so, and it made you feel afraid of her
and far away. 1t reminds me of the way
in which people treat the Saviour; they
put a guilty conscience between his love
and their hearts, and then he seems far
away and they are afraid of him.
Lola and Lila are young ladies now; I
saw them the other day, and we were
talking about the big orange. "Im
Lola's shadow still, Lila had said, smil-
ing. I'm always doing wrong, and it
takes all Lola's sunshine to Keep me
right; but l do try not to let guilty
conscience get between me and Jesus.
The Pansy.