The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-02-01

&YEgA the family. Al seven
xxx o'clock every morning,
SN clad in a blouse and
overalls, and armed with
brush and paint pail, Dave trudged
off to his work. Although only
house painter, he had artistic aspira-
tions, and his cozy room in the little
brown cottage was filled with sketches
which, crude though they might be-
evinced a merit easily recognized by
others less partial than his sister
Dolly. :.
Dolly was Dawes twin. She hao
the same clear, violet eyes; the same
light complexion that laugh flushes
so rosily; the same brown hair with a
CLINT of red gold in it. Dolly had her
aspirations, too. She wanted to be a
writer. Thus far, however, she had
launched but few barks upon the
troubled sea of literature. Some OF
them had foundered, but several had
come into port grandly, and the pale
blue and yellow checks for modest
sum sent Dolly had caused days OF
rejoicing in the brown cottage.
Aunt Betsey Dacey had neither
artistic nor literary longings. She
had become an inmate of the house
hold when the parents of the twins
were alive, and when the sunshine OF
prosperity had frightened her well
come. And when death and loss of
property came, aunt Betsey stayed
on, though there were those who said
that it was extremely foolish for the
twins to burden themselves with a
feeble old relative. But aunt Betsey
knew that she was secure in the love
of the two loyal hearted young peo-
pie, and she did her best to help exc
out the family income by knitting
socks and mittens and piecing quilts.
There was another member of the
Dacey household, whom we may men
ton incidentally. This was the lady
boarder, lonely, sad hearted woman
who had once been rich, and had
friends who had called her beautiful
and witty, and had, or thought she
had. all the glories of the world in
rainbow heap. But the riches had
taken to themselves wings; so, fgura-
lively speaking, had the friends, and
the lady boarder, suiting her position
to her purse, was moping in the little
brown cottage and trying to fight
Giant Despair, though to be sure, a
coy. brown cottage with two lively
young folks in it like Dave and Dolly,
never does make a very successful
Doubling Castle.
Dave and Dolly were especially
lively on the morning our story be-
gins. Dave had the job of painting
his next-door neighbours fence. He
was down on his knees in the soft,
cool grass, dabbing industriously at
the pointed palings that were only a
few rods away from the vine-wreathed
window, inside of which Dolly's face
with it's sunny curls every now and
then appeared. Dolly's face was ros-
Ter than ever, for she was doing big
ironing which she didn't mind in the
least because it was going to bring in
some extra dollars and cents.
81 say, Davy," she called out, as
she hung up much beruffed pink
muslin skirt, 81 say, one week more
and we'll have enough to buy our
horses and take our tripl"
The "horses" meant two new BIZ
cycles and the "trip" meant an out
ing which the twins had planned and
for which they had saved for more
than two years. Their route was to
be through certain famous valley
walled in by green hills, where every
turn in the road was to bring new
scenes before Dawes beauty loving
eyes. As for Dolly, she intended
that "everY incident and accident"
should be immortalized in pen and
ink. 1t was beautiful air castle
that the twins had been building
substantial one, too, for, as Dolly
had said, the funds for the trip were
nearly gathered together. Much