Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-11-17
! THE DUPLEX BABIES !


The twins had been n source of joy and
speculation for three or four weeks to
Mrs. Branhild and her husband-to Mrs
Branhild especially, for anything in the
shape Of baby aroused the deepest
sympathies of her nature, perhaps be-
cause she had never had one of her own.
| Nevertheless. there was no infantile dis
order for which the little woman did not
| have sovereign remedy, and her diagnO-
kcS were unerring. She could talk the
| language that babies understand with a
| tluCncy and expression that mothers of
six might have cnvicd, and the most OBJ
StrCpcrouS little brats that ever murder
ed midnight sleep would, under her gem
tie mniStrationS, become simply cheru-
bic.
Mr. Rranhild was interested in the
twins simply because they would have in
tcrcstcd anybody. As they were wheeled
past the Branhild cottage, one at each
end OF their basket carriage, hooking aS
fresh, plump and enticing ms two pink
cherries on stalk, the most chronic
misnnthrope would have felt an impulse
to arrest their progress until he should
have pinchcd their soft, round checks
and coaXcd the dimpled fingers into cling
ing touch OF his. They were dark eyed
twins, with quite n prOfusiOn of soft
| brown hair, considering their age, and
the Sirlish looking woman who wheeled
them had the same eyes and hair. They
always passed at about the same hour
in the afternoon, and they never came
back the same way.
81 wish | knew who she was" said
Mrs. Branhild to her husband one even
ing. "Shc looks so dignified I'm afraid to
speak to her, but l must hold those dear
little things if | have to put tolgate
across the sidewalk. Aren't they dear,
FredY'
"Thcy're mighty cunning babies" said
Mr. Brnnhold. 81 suppose she takes
them for ar airing in the park and goes
home around the block. Why do you
want to know who she is?'
Naturally | want to know everything
about her. | want to know their names
and what she feeds them and how old
they are and whether their father doesn't
worship thcm-but Of course he does
never saw two such sweet little girls In
all my life"
How do you know they are not boys?"
Mrs. Branhld looked at him scornfully,
but vouchsafed no other reply.
'Thcn why don't you ask her and find
out?"
Il did bow one afternoon, but she look
ed up SO coldly and bowed to me in such
n freezing manner that | haven't had
the courage to try it again. | suppose
all sorts of people are everlastingly stop
ping her to ask about them, and she is
tired of it. Perhaps | would be, too, and
yet Mrs. Branhild sighed.
at would tickle you to death, and you
know it would. Here they come back
now the same way, but she's traded car
riagcs or something"
"She has, hasn't she? But that isn't
the wOman-surely not. There's the
twins, though. Why, Fred, those are not
the twins-it's another sct!''
1t was another set and another young
mother and the eyes of these twins were
blue, their hair haXen-what there was
of it-and' their gender masculine.
"Did you ever hear of anything like
that said Mrs Branhild.
"Why, | suppose there is more than
one pair of twins in Chicago" said Mr..
Branhld.
But the remarkable thing was that
from that day the blue eyed babies were
driven daily past the Branhld cottage
as regularly as the brown eyed pair, and
little Mrs. Branhild was at II loss which
of the two to admire most. The blue
eyed ones passed at about 3 o'clock and
the brown eyed ones half an hour later.
"Now, | should say there was a special
Providence in this thing if it wasn't for
that half hour of difference" said Mrs.
Branhld, musing. with prospective
eye. Il wonder whether they don't pass
somewhere. | suppose not, though. They
| probably miss each other by about Il
minute. That's the way it is in this life;
we miss things" She sighed little sigh
and thereby attracted the wandering at
tention of Mr. Branhild, who patted her
hand and said, I'm glad that | didn't
miss you, my dear"
But Mrs. Branhild's estimate of the
ways of Providence was not well based
after all, for about two weeks ago Mr..
Branhld, looking up the street, and Mrs.
Branhld, looking down the street, both
simultaneously exclaimed, Here come
the twins"
And, sure enough, this time the blue
eyed and the brown eyed were approach
ing from opposite directions and would
soon meet. Mr.. Branhid carefully meas
urcd the distances with his eye and then
turned TO his wife and said, II believe
they will hit just about here"
The little woman made no reply. She
| was too absorbed in her own calculations,
but in moment she said in her turn:
"I'll just bet you that they meet right
in front here. | wonder If they will
stop"
How could they help it? AS the Bran
hilds had predicted, the two mothers,
with their luulry ofrSnrinp met in front