Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1903-01-01
In THE NAME OF
PHILANTHROPY
BY O'Ryan O'Bryan
Copyright, 1902, by the
s. s. Mcclure Company

The Dawsons were double cousins
first in days of calm, but second when
storms swept over the land-girls, four
teen years old apiece, bright, fiercely
energetic and up to date.
They owned two adjoining ancestral
places well furnished with fathers and
mothers. and from cellars to attics,
particularly the attics, with chairs and
things, and with servants to dust the
chairs and things. They owned also
one grandmother in common besides
two or three others in severalty.
Said their mothers, whom grand
mother in commons illness called
away. "How fortunate that school is
in session; otherwise the girls might
be lonely" maternal euphemism re-
sulting from long years of practice.
The term closed, however, without
the mothers presence to soften the
blow. Grandmother-in-com illness
necessitated longer leave of absence,
which was granted in characteristic
message: Were all right, little moth
ers. Stay as long as you please Love
to gram"
This was Endorsed by the Fathers
Dawson.
That was what the Fathers Dawson
were for-to indorse. Although much
absorbed in trying to double the output
Of the foundry without increasing the
expenses, they still reserved the veto
power at home. But the possibility of
the overruling two-thirds vote led them
to preserve the show Of authority by
tndorsing, always and speedily.
The mothers were becoming uneasy
too. Usually when these restless fits
came on the girls were tactfully guided
into the paths Of philanthropy. Great
executive ability" their mothers said
they had, and indeed they could dress
dolls or make scrapbooks for children's
hospitals If necessary, but they just
dotted on sales.
When sale was announced, their
subordinates drew long breath. The
mothers fell to work with will, echo
ing the remark Of Rosa, the cook: "Now
we knows where wese at. I can stan
on my fleets all day maxim canny, an
doesn' complains, but it's desc yere
surprisin's dat GIBBS me de misery in
my haid."
The restlessness now worked itself
into fever, and as it reached its
height simultaneously in both girls
they started on q run from their re-
spective homes and met under the
linden tree on the boundary Of their
ancestral lawns.
In breathless duet they exclaimed,
"Oh, Susannah, have an ideal" "Oh,
Hepsibah, / have an ideaY'
Their names were neither Susannah
always spelled with an "h') nor Hep,
sibah. Their mothers in youthful ig-,
norance of what good form would de-
mand in a name later had called them
Nellie and Oracle. The girls early
came to despise these weakly cogno-
mems, and when some Harvard author
ity in a proud spasm of reform chang
ed their Uncle Harry's name to Henry
without so much as saying by your
leave they promptly said, well
change ours" Susannah. and Hep
sibah they became to each other from
that moment. The fathers and moth
ers at first stoutly resisted, but might
prevailed. The general public now
knew no others.
"We'll have a sale-a fresh air
SALE"
Then the embryo ''lady board' put
their heads together and gave their ex-
ecutive ability full play.
At night the Fathers Dawson's in
dorsement was called for.
"A sale? Certainly" What a re-
lief!
When the girls signal lights greet
ed each other from their windows,
each Father Dawson started for the
telephone.
my DEAR said susannah's father,
rest easy. A sale is on. They are
quite capable of managing the Pan
American, you know, and they can
this. The servants, both men and
maid, must by this time be letter per-
feet"
When his turn came, Hepsibah's ia
Their said much the same thing.
The mothers embraced each other
fervently. 1.-The little dears," they
said and slept the sleep Of the unwor-
ried.
This was Friday. The sale was set
for the next Wednesday. Grandmoth-
er-in-common was now recovering rap
idly.
Tuesday night the mothers said to
each other, "We're homesick."
Wouldn't surprise be fun?"
Lets go home. I should enjoy a
sale when we haven't worked to get
ready for it."
I'VE won't even telephone for the
carriage. The girls will need all the
help they can have"
This was true. A sale without the
two faithful henchwomen called for
manual labor as well as executive abil-
ity.
Thus it was that the waning Wednes-
day afternoon found the two mothers