News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-02-27
ONE VALENTINES DAY,
BY KEZIAH SHELTON.

seled hazel and alder shrubs, now an
then trilling forth from their tin
threats purest spring-like songs {
joy.
Adown the azel-bordered country
road came two rosy girls clad in nav
blue walking suits, wi b here an
there in their costumes dash of red
their bright faces and wind-,ossed hai
Gro wned with jaunty crimson yarn
with dark blue tassels.
Their steps were elastic with healt
and youths undoubting hopefulness
they gave the finishing touch of lit
that made the fcena perfect one
two young men who were sitting IN
( observed by them in a sunny corne
, where two walls met, sketching tt
stretch of grey roadway with its shru
, befringed edges and fiuttering birds.
: s'Be quick and sketch them Jack, 1T !
the one thing needed TO make tn
theme perfect. There, they have paus
ed, and how unconsciously graceful
they are pausingl Not often do yol
get such an accidental touch as this
and the picture will be the envy at th'
Annual Exhibition"
Rapidly the sketching went on, anC
together the girls resumed their steady
tramp, keeping perfect step, and pass
ing the two young men who looked as
innocent as only the guilty canl If
they had not sketched the girls, they
naturally would have shown some con-
seriousness of their approach.
Now, it was the girls who gave a.
most start of surprise as they SUI den
" discovered the artist and his friend.
"What handsome, stylish young
menl Did you notice the moustache of
the dark haired one? What natural
wave it rad, not that horrid waxy
curl at the ends that makes you feel
that it must have just come fresh from
he BARRIERS tongs," said Mabel Tink-
ham, who was something of an artist
in her taste as regarded masculine
beauty. Being herself rich hued
should have been attracted by the dark
style of Roland Holland.
stNo, did not notice the dark one
as being other than a communicating
man, but the brown-bearded man
what figure he had And a perfect
facet" and Mary Peck, with a graceful
movement of her arm, put up her hand
to her hair, TO assure herse that the
wind had not blown it s'every which
way" "Really, are we blown quite
into frights, Mabel? | wonder who
those fellows are, and where they
came from. One was sketching and
the other leaning ON the wall and look
ing; or do you sappose he was posing
Wouldn't he make a splendid portrait?
.He? No, he couldn't huld candle
| TO the dark one. 1 wish we could
know them, but what is the use in talk
ing such nonsense; you and | shall
never know such as he out in this will
derness! l wonder if pa will ever get
his business Strengthened out, so that
we can once more have a comfortable
home in the ethyl For one, 1 am
heartily tired of living out he in the
country, shut out from all society.
don't see why men who know enough
to do business ON change don't know
enough not to get 'fleeced,' as pa calls
it. Oh, dear, what made him fail all
at once, and send us out here to grand
father's?"
"Ldon't know, | am sure; buying
long and selling short and buying short
and selling long, and being rich few
years, and then suddenly .as poor as
Jobs turkey is conundrum l cannot
understand. But began to feel that
when pa and his clique was rich, then
somebody was fleeced and made poor /;
we didn't know who it was, that was
all, and we just enjoyed it.
"Now pa talks about our being
feeced, and 1 suppose somebody is
fiourishing on the fleeing just as we
did; and never dreaming that out here
in the woods we, the fieeced, are drag
ging along miserably, shut out from
all the things we used to have. How
long have we worn these suits? Mine
is actually sprouting fringe around
the bottom, sort of growing its spring
foliage as one might say. wonder if
we can have some new ones this
spring?'
81 don't know. We have actually
worn them three years; they were the
last VIC had before we came here two
years ago the fourteenth of this month.
Don't you remember we were planning
such fun for the novel valentine party
Lucy Hoyt had sent out invitations
for? Then pa failed, and we arrived
here at grandpa's the evening of the
party. thought should die as we
sat that night in the kitchen and
watched grandpa popping corn and
grandma cracking walnuts, and actu-
ally feeling that they were making a
real good time for usl"
Never fear, | remember it all; il
was just horrid. And grandma says
now she don't see what all our 'oppor-
tunities' have amounted to when we
can't do half as much to help ourselves,
as girls who never had half our
chanceW
GLOW provoked sc is because we
don't want TO reach; and she is right,
we couldn't do il IL we did wish to.
She told me this morning, if l wanted
a new dress ought to find some way
TO earn it; that it was shame that pa
had spent thousands of dollars on our
school bills piano Lessons and French
teachers, and after all we couldn't
teach even the school in this district!
And there's Nancy Farnum, who's
never had dollar spent on her school
ing, and has earned ten dollars a week
for forty weeks year, for the last
five years; has helped her ma for her
board fore and after school, has dressed
well, furnished her mas parlor up,
and put money in the savings bank;
and you two girls can't even give the
neighbours children lessons on a melo-
deon! Oh, am sick of hearing it all
and the worst of the whole is it is
true; and, as much as We hate that
old farmhouse and the way grandpa
and grandma live, we have nowhere
else to be ~
"Well, what can't be helped, can't
SO what is the use of talking? We
may just as well make the best of It
and come right down and take what
fun there is going; so let's walk on to
Betty Plummer's and tell her we will
accept her invitation for tomorrow
night, and go right in for a good
time with the neighborhood Young
folks. said at first l never would do
it, bit then l did not expect to STAY
here forever; now begin to think we
may. But, let's draw the line at mar
rying, we will firt with the BOYS and
have good time. Twill be some