Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-01-07
CNE VALENTINES DAY.
BY KEZIAH SHELTON

The early days of February came
srnny and smiling; the birds that had
passed their northern winter in the
warm anches of the fir and spruce
trees of tho woods, were hopping
lightly from the silvery blossomed
pussy willows to the fringed and tas-
seled hazel and alder shrubs, now and
then trilling forth from their tiny
throats purest spring-like songs of
JOY.
Adown the hazel l-bordered country
road came two rosy girls clad in navy
blue walking suits, with here and
there in their costumes a dash of red
their bright faces and wind-tossed hair
cro wned 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 O
two young men who were sitting un-
observed by them in a sunny corner
where two walls met, sketching the
stretch of grey roadway with its shrub
befringed edges and fluttering birds.
~
the one thing needed to make the,
theme perfect. There, they have paus-'
ed, 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 sketching 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 sketched the girls, they
naturally would have shown some con-
seriousness of their approach.
Now, it was the girls who gave al
-nfr--;sa start of surprise as they .su, dem
fyNlIscovered the artist and his friend.
"What handsome, stylish young
menl Did you notice the moustache of
the dark-haired one? What a natural
wave it bad, not that horrid wa1y
curl at the ends that makes you feel
that it must have just come fresh from
he barber's tongs," said Mabel Tink-
ham, who was something of an artist
in her taste as regarded masculine
beauty. Being herself a rich hue.l
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-bearded man
what figure 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" "Really, are we blown quite
into frights, Mabel? l 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 suppose he was posing?
Wouldn't he make splendid portrait ?T'
"He? No, he couldn't hold a candle
to the dark one. l 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
dernessl Iwonder if pa will ever get
his business Strengthened out, so that
we can once more have a comfortable
home in the city! For one, l 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?"
Il don't know, am sure; buying
long and selling short and buying short
nd nd .fch 70
years, and then suddenly 'as poor as
Jobs turkey is conundrum / cannot
understand. But l 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 l suppose somebody is
fourishing on the fleeing just as we
did: and never dreaming that out here
in the woods we, the fleeced, are drag
ging alolg miserably, shut out from
all the thi lgs we used to have. How
long have we worn these suits? Mine
is actually sprouting a fringe around
the bottom, sort of growing its spring
foliage as one might say. wonder if
we can have some new ones this
spring?"
al don't know. We have actually
sSvrn them three years; they were the
last we 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 l 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 us!"
..Never fear, remember it all; it
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 ou'
chanceW
elbow provoked ste is because we
don't want to teach; and she is right,
we couldn't do it if 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
l.tr. ~..o,.o lossane and Eronch