The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-08-25
TAKING THE TWINS PICTURE.

TAKING THE TWINS PICTURE.
Ben was called upon in due time tc
take some of the neighbors' pictures
His greatest trial, however, was with
the Mallory twins. Mrs. Mallory was
very fond and proud of the twins-so
eXtravagantly fond of them that she
often said they were good enough tc
eat. They were as like each other as
two peas; indeed, Ben thought they
were a good deal more alike than any
two peas he had ever seen. They were
just one year and two months old.
Why Mrs. Mallory was so proud of the
twins, except for the fact that there
were two of them, nobody was ever
able to find out; but she was, and that
was enough for Mrs. Mallory, and, in
deed, for Mr.. Mallory, too-they were
both very proud of the twins, and the
taking of their pictures was a great
event.
The appointed day arrived. Ben was
told to come with his Instruments at
eleven o'clock precisely, for that was
the time the twins awoke from their
morning maps. He went accordingly.
He was shown into the parlor, where
the whole family was gathered awaiting
him. Ben by this time felt quite ex-
perienced; he had taken almost every
thing else but baby, and. although it
was bold thing to begin with twins,
Ben felt pretty sure of himself. Pres
emily the twins were brought in, and
straightway there was chorus of adj
miring relatives: "Darlings," angels, :"
"cherubs," ''pets," "lambs," "little
dears," etc. Ben didn't join in the
chorus; he didn't exactly know what to
do, and so only stood and twirled his
thumbs, and looked foolish. He knew
very little about babies, and still less
about twins; "but," as he told Sissy
privately, "he couldn't see anything to
make fuss over; he should a great deal
rather have a couple of nice rabbits. !"
They were chubby babies; and they
were dressed in long white dresses, tied
up at the shoulders with pink ribbons
They were girls, and their names, which
their mother had made it point to get
as nearly alike as possible, were Eme-
line Anna and Eveline Hannah.
And now there was great dispute as
to how they should be taken. Some
thought in the cradle, some thought in
the baby-wagon, some thought on their
mothers lap, some thought on their
fathers lap, while their Aunt Jane said
they looked too cunning for anything
in the clothes basket. But soon Mrs.
Mallory settled the question by emphat-
ically taking them one on each knee.
Now Ben went to work; he pointed his
instrument, adjusted his lens, looked
under the black cloth, and was Just
upon the point of saying the word,
when suddenly Emeline Anna set up a
cry. Three aunts at once rushed to the
rescue, which made her cry louder than
before. Mrs. Mallory then sent the
aunts away, and by some stratagem of
her own secured silence. In few min
utes they were all ready to start again,
when, unhappily, Eveline Hannah
espied the ribbon on little blue-and-
white sock, sticking out from under her
dress, and directly was seized with Il
wild desire to clutch it. This endeavor
brought the three aunts and the father
promptly to the scene. All at once, ii
occurred to their Aunt Jane that it
Choking up" Thereupon she went
and got the dust-pan, and, standing on
chair behind Ben and the camera, she
pounded it with clothes-pin. This
struck Papa Mallory as such very
clever thing to do, that he went and got
the poker and tongs, and stood on an
other chair and banged them together.
This produced the desired effect. The
four eyes were strained upward in a
gaze of dumb establishment.
Now, quick, quick" cried every
body.
Ben, in futter, pulled off the cap
The whole family stood rigid with sus.
pense for several seconds. Ben, al
length, replaced the cap, crying tri-
umphantly, 'Doner Alas! in another
moment he found that in the confusion
and excitement of getting the twins
fixed, he had forgotten to put in the
plate, and of course there was no picture
Up went Papa Mallory and up went
Aunt Jane on the chairs again, bang
went the poker and tongs, and clang
went inc ClOUHcS-plu duu Jne uuSJ- pan.
This time, however, the plan did not
work. Eveline Hannah suddenly took
it into her precious little heads to be
scared at the hoise, and at once set ur
cry which, when Emeline Anna pres
emily joined in, became loud and pro
onged duet. 1t was plain that some
5hing else must be tried. 1t was, there
lore, decided to let Papa Mallory hole
the twins, while Mamma Mallory
amused them. This promised at frs
TO succeed. Mamma Mallory knelt dowr
before the darlings, and, clapping hel
hands, cried softly:
"Goo-goo! Googly-goop'
Now, children, l wish l could explain
hose words to you. but l can not.
aave not the least idea what they mean
But--will you believe it?-the twin,
lid; they knew what it meant at once
and burst into the sweetest smile o
which they were capable. Everybody
again cried:
"Quick, quick; take EN- nowr'
But Ben, squirting under his blacl