The state herald., 1890-03-28
ONE VALENTINES DAY
DY KEzIAH SHELTON.

passed their northern winter In tho
warm b anches of the fir and spruce
trees of tho woods, were hopping
lightly from the si!vcry blossomcd d
pussy willows TO the fringed and tas-
scled hazel and alder shrubs, now and
then trilling forth from their tiny
thrOats purest spring-like songs of
joy.
Adown the laZel-bordcred country
road came two rosy girls clad in navy
blue walking suits, with here and
there in their costumes dash of red !;
their bright faces and wind-.ossed hair
Gro owned with jaunty crimson yarns
with dark blue tasscls.
Their steps were elastic with health
and youths undoubting hopefulness !;
they gave the finishing touch of life
that made the fceno perfect one 10
two young men who were sitting I'M
observed by them in sunny corner
where two walls met, sketching the
stretch Of grey roadway with its shrub
befringed edges and fluttcring birds.
"lse quick and sketch them, Jack 1T is
the one thing needed to make the
theme perfect. There, they have paus-
cd, and how unconsciously graceful
they are pausing! Not often do you
get such an accidental touch as this.
and the picture will be the envy at the
Annual Exhibition
Rapidly the skctching went on, and
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 can! If
they had not skctched the girls, they
naturally would have shown some con-
sciousness of their approach.
Now, it was the girls who gave al
most n start of surprise as they su, den-
ly discovered the artist and his friend
"What handsome, stylish young
men! Did you notice the moustache of
the dark-haired one? What natural
wave it bad, not that horrid waxy
curl at the ends that makes YOU feel
that II must have just come fresh from
he barbei's tongs," said Mabel Tink-
ham. who was something of an artist
in her taste as regarded masculine
beauty. Being herself Il rich hucd
blonde. it was but natural that she
should have been attracted by the dark
style of Roland Holland.
"No, did not notice The dark one
as being other than a communicating
man, but the brown-bcardcd man
what n figure he had And n perfect
facc" and Mary Peck, with a graceful
movement of her arm, put up her hand
TO her hair, TO assure hersc that the
wind had not blown 1t "cvcry which
way" "teally, are we blown quite
into friglits, Mabe.l wonder who
those fellows arc, and where they
came from. Ono was skctching and
the other leaning on the wall and look
ing; or do yon ppose he was posing?
Wouldn't he make splendid portraii?r
"iic! No, he couldn't hold candle
TO the dark one. 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
derncss. wonder If pa will ever get
his business Strengthened ont, so that
we can once more have II comfortable
home in the city! For one, 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 10 get 'ilceccd, as pa calls
ii. Oh, dear. what made hun fail all
at once. and send us out here to grand
fathcr's?"
81 don't know, ] nm sure: buying
long and selling short aud buying short
and selling long, and being rich few
years. and then suddenly sas poor as
Jobs turkey is n conundrum cannot
understand. But began TO feel that
when pm and his clique was rich, then
somebody wa flccced aud made poor:
we didn't know who II was, that was
all, and We jus, enjoyed II.
"Now pa talks about our being
fccccd, and ! suppose somebody l.
flourisliing OH the fleeing Just us VIC
did; and never dreaming that ont here
in the woods we, the llccccd, are drag
ging along miscrably, shut out from
nll the things we used 10 have. How
long lave we worn ihcsc suiisg Mine
is actually sprouting u fringe around
the bottom, sort of growing It's spring
follnge US one might say. wonder II
we can have some new ones this
sprlngl
al don't know. We have actually
worn them three years: they were the
last we Ind 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 Iloyt had sent ont invitations
fory Then pa failed, mud we arrived
here Mt grandpa's the evening OF the
party. thought ] should die as we
sat that night In the kitchen aud
watched grandpa popping corn and
grandma cracking wnlnuis, and aciu-
ally feeling that they were making n
real good lime for us!"
"Ncvcr fear, l remember II nil: II
was lust horrid. And grandma says
now she don't SEQ what all our 'oppor-
tuniiics' bayc amounted 10 when we
can't do half as much TO help ourrclvcs,
Rs girls who never had lmlf our
chancc!"
'uoW IiEoNoh'u sew " U''HW-' wv
don't want TO teach; aud she Is right,
we couldn't do II II we did wish to.
She told me this morning, if wanted
n now dress ought 10 find some wny
10 earn H.. TIM, II was n shame ibai pm
had spent thousands Of dollars on onr
school bills piano Lessons nUd French
teachers, aud after all wc couldn't
teach even the school In this district
And there's Nancy lnrnum. who's
never had u dollar spent on her school.
Ing, nnd has earned ten dollars II week
for forty weeks n year. for the last
five years. Inns helped her ina for her
board fore and after school, bas dressed
well. furnished her mas parlor up,
and put money In tho savings bank;
md you two girls can't even give the