Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-02-03
THE BROWN-BEARDED STRANGER

The early days of February came
sunny and smiling; the birds that had
passed their northern winter in the
warm b anches of the fir and spruce
trees Of tho woods, were hopping
lightly from the silvery blossomed
pnssy 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
10y.
AdOwn the hazel-bordered country
road came two rosy girls clad in navy
blue walking suits, wi h here and
there in their costumes a dash of red:
their bright faces and wind-,ossed 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 sceno perfect one 10
two young men who were sitting I'M
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.
BE quick and sketch them, Jack it is
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 canI If
they had not sketched the girls, they
naturally would have shown some con-
sciousness of their approach.
Now, 1t was the girls who gave al
most 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 a natural
wave it had, not that horrid waxy
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 tasto as regarded masculine
beauty. Being herself rich hued
blonde, it was but natural that she
should have been attracted by the dark
style of Roland Holland.
mo, did not notice the dark one
as being other than a communicating
man, but the brown-bearded man
what a figure he had! And a perfect
face !" and Mary Peck, with graceful
movement of her arm, put up her hand
10 her hair, to assure herself that the
wind had not blown it "every which
way" "Really, are we blown quite
into frights, Msbelf / 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?"
"He? No, he couldn't hold candle
10 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
derness! / wonder if pa will ever get
his business Strengthened out, so that
We can once NOR, have a comfortable
home in the city! For one, l am
heartily tired of living out he. e in the
country, shut out from all society.
don't see why men who know enough
10 do business on change don't know
enough not to get 'fleeced,' as pa calls
1t. Oh, dear, what made him fail all
at once, and send us out here to grand
fathers"
81 don't know, am sure; buying
long and selling short and buying short
aud selling long, and being rich a few
years, and then suddenly 'as poor as
Jobs turkey is a cOnundrum | cannot
understand. But l began to feel that
when pa and his clique was rich, then
somebody was fieeced 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 / suppose somebody is
iOurishing on the fleeing just as we
did; and never dreaming that out here
in the woods we, the feeced, are drag
ging along miserabiy, shut ont 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. Iwonder if !
we can have some new ones this !,
spring."
al don't know. We have actually !,
worn them three years; they we're 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 ,
Tor! 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
real good time for usl"
Never fear, remember it all; it !
was Just horrid. And grandma says
now she don't see what all our 'oppor-
'uhlues have amounted to when we
can DO half as much to help ourselves,
girls who never had half our
chanceI"
"How provoked ,Le is because we
dont want to teach: and she is right,
We couldn't do it if we did wish to. |
cue told me this morning, if l wanted
new dress | ought to find some way
!" earn 1t; that it was shame that pa
mao spent thousands of dollars on our
sChool bills piano Lessons and French
teachers, and after all we couldn't
VeaCh even the school in this district
ana there's Nancy Farnun, who's
never had dollar spent on her school
ing, and has earned ten dollars a week
c aot iorty weeks a year, for the last
nVe years; has helped her ma for her
uoard fore and after school, has dressed
well furnished her ma. parlor up,
ah1 put money in the savings bank: