Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-12-12

Eccentricitics Of Maiden Ladies WHO
Amuscd an Eastern Town.

Amused an Eastcrn Town.
The curious streak Of obstinacy which
crops out I'm many New England fami.
lies, especially in small places, where
the range OF ideas and occupations Il
small, has been brought into promi.
nence through the tales OF a gifted
group OF story writer's. notably by Miss
Mary IL. wilkins. People living In
Dthcr parts of the country often think
her stories must be exaggerations, but
jewellers In New England towns can
parallel most of them from their own
knowledge.
In one Massachusetts village there
dwelt not many years ago two maiden
ladies, called. though they were over
forty years OF age, 1.-The Hatfield girls.
Beside this youthful appellation, they
retained youthful taste for gay col
ors. AS they were twins, very tall,
very lean, always wearing skirts con-
spicuously short to avoid dust. and hat
.brims unusually wide to avoid injuring
their eyes, they would have been rath-
er remarkable figures even IL they had
not chosen to dress. school girl fash
ion, in clothes exactly alike to the
slightest detail.
They were always together, and II
was one of the characteristic sights of
the village to see the Hatfield girls
plodding through the snow to the post
Office in their green-and-red plaid
gowns, black-braided coats and big,
brown. fuzzy felt hats with great pea
green bows. Their muffs, mittens, tip
pets wristers, barege wells, even their
rubber boots, were duplicates of each
other. In fact the sisters were as alb
sOlutely alike as the twin paper dolls
which little girls cut from a piece OF
paper folded double.
In summer 1t was the same. They
fioated by to church in duplicate blue
muslins, or watered their flower beds
in the early morning in indistinguisha.
BILE hideous purple wrappers.
Suddenly, the village was stirred by
an exciting event; the Hatfield girls
had quarreled! They quarreled be-
cause Mary Abby, who overheard q
small boy making jokes at their ex'
pense, suggested to Ann Eliza that per-
haps it would be rs well If henceforth
they dressed just little differently
Ann Eliza received the suggestion as
the eruelest of insults; but she said
holly that, after that, she wouldn't
for a kingdom wear a dress of the same
piece as Mary Abby's.
Sure enough, the sisters ceased II
dress alike. Furthermore, they did not
dress tremendously. They were to
gether as much as ever-but il Mary
Abby wore pink, Ann Eliza had OH scar
let; IL she wore green, Ann Eliza wore
blue; If it were yellow, she decked
herself in magenta; II it were brown
or gray, she tried TO get n shade Of the
same color that would make her sisters
appear dingy and faded.
1t was war of colors waged furi
ously for a week, bitterly for a month
spitefully for year; then persever
ingly, resolutely, obstinately, for one
extraordinarily years; from
five to ten; ten to twelve; twelve to thir
teen.
Neither sister would give in, for af
ter a brief exhibition Of colors Mary
Abby had tried to fight her offended
twin with her own weapons, and to
array herself In hues too violent to be
overwhelmed. They were as gay as
parrakeets, the two poor bitter old
twins, and the interested village had
quite given up expectation OF change
when at length change came.
One morning the Hatfield girls" side
by side, and dressed in new and glossy
black, entered the postoffice amid q
crowd of staring villagers, and called
for their mail. They were In mourn
ing evidently-but nobody could think
who had died. At length the postmis-
tress ventured to inquire.
EYES," said Ann Eliza, soberly
smoothing down her new cape, 1--WE are
in mourning. 1t want strictly neces
sary, presume, but we thought it best
It's Cousin Johns wife out In Mon
tana. We've never seen her, but we
hear she was very worthy woman
and credit to the family"
And whether or not the Hatfield girls
mourned deeply for the unknown wife
Of Cousin John, 1t is certain that fol
the remaining years Of their lives Their
clothes were black, and were cut alike
and the village guessed that they had
found a way to end their warfare, with
ont acknowledging surrender, or pro
claiming peace.