The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1890-05-02
ONE VALENTINES DAY.
BY KEzIAH SHELDON.

The early days of February came
sunny and smiling; the birds that had
passed their Northern winter in the warm
branches of the fir and spruce trees of
the woods, were hopping lightly from
the silvery blossomed pussy willows to
the fringed and tasseled hazel snd alder
shrubs, now and then trilling forth from
their tiny threats purest spring-like songs
of JOY.
Adown the hazel bordered country road
came two rosy girls clad in navy blue
walking suits, with here aud there in
their costumes dash of red; their bright
faces and wind-tossed hair crowned with
jaunty crimson yarns with dark blue
tassels.
Their steps were elastic with health
and youths undoubting hopefulness;
they gave the finishing touch of life that
made the scene a perfect one to two
young men who were sitting, unobserved
by them, in sunny corner where two
walls met, sketching the stretch of grey
roadway with its shrub befringed edges
and fiuttering birds.
''By Jovel Be quick and sketch them.
Jack, it is the one thing needed to make
the theme perfect. There, they have
paused, and how uneonsciously graceful
they are posingi Not often do you get
such an accidental touch as this, and the
picture viii be the envy at the Annual
Exhibition
Rapidly the S1etchine went on.-and
fater The girls resumed their steady tramp.
tramp, keeping perfect step, and passing
the two young men who locked as limo
cent as only the guilty cant If they had
not sketched the girls, they naturally
would have shown some consciousness of
their approach.
Now, it was the girls who gave almost
start of surprise as they suddenly dis
covered the artist and his friend. "
"What handsome stylish young menl
Did you rotice the moustache of the dark
haired onel What natural wave it had.
not that horrid waxy curl at the ends that
makes you feel that it must have
Just come fresh from the BARRIERS tongs, n |
said Mabel Tinkham, who was some |
thing of an artist in her taste
as regarded masculine beauty. Being !
herself a rich hued 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 common looking man,
but the brown bearded man-what fig |
urc he had And perfect facet" and |
Mary Peck, with a graceful movement of
her arm put up her hand to her hair, to
assure herself that the wind had not
blown it ''every which way" Greatly, |
are we blown quite into rights, Mabell
wonder who those fellows are, and where
they came FRONT One was sketching and
the other leaning on the wall and look
ing; or do you suppose he was poslng2
Wouldn't he make q splendid portraitl''
'Hel No, he couldn't hold a candle
TO the dark one. 1 wish we could know
them, but what is the use of talking
snch nonsense; you and 1 shall never
know such as he out In this wilderness
wonder if pa VIII ever get his business
Strengthened out, so that we can once more
have comfortable home in the city2
For one, / am heartily tired of living out
here 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 'heeced, as pa
calls it. Oh, dear, what made him 'faiP
all at once, and send US out here to
grandfsther'sl"
81 don'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 a conundrum cannot under
stand. But began to feel that when pa
and his clique was rich, then somebody
was feeced and made poor; we didn't
know who it was, that was all, and we
Just enjoyed it. Now pa talks about our
being 'fleeced, and I suppose somebody
IS fourishing on the fleeing just as we
did; and never dreaming that out here
n the woods we, the feeced, are drag
ying along miserably; shut out from All
he things we used to have. How long
have we worn these suitsl Mine is act
ially sprouting fringe around the bot
ON, sort Of growing its spring foliage as
me might say. Iwonder if we can have
Iome new ones this spring." s
81 don't know. We have actually |
worn them three years; they were the
asst we had before we came here two {
rears ago the fourteenth of this month. I
DON'T you remember we were planning I
or the novel valentine party Lucy Hoyt I
lad sent out invitations fort Then pa t
allied and we arrived here at grandpa's 7
he evening of the party. I thought 1 s
hould die as we sat that night in the
dtchen and watched grandpa popping l
orn and grandma cracking walnuts, and t
ctually feeling that they were making a a
cal good time for usl"
''Never fear, I remember it all; it was S
ust horrid. And grandma says now she '
lont see what all our Opportunities
ave amounted to when we can't do half i
s much TO help ourselves, as girls who /
ever had half our chaucel a
Show provoked she is because VIC C
ont want 10 teach; and she is right; we S
ouIdn't do it ii we did wish to. She q
osdlq this morning, IL Ixsased asw