The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-11-27
The Angel
BY MARTHA MITCHELL

-
per Syndicate)
But she can't wait forever for him
to propose, plan for their house and
ask to have the wedding day named"
said Mrs. Cogdal. II believe word
or two put in wisely might suggest the
thing to him."
"Yes, l know. Jennie" sighed her
daughter, the Angel, but you promised
when Dan first began coming here that
you would not spoil Beauty's prospects
with him by limiting at our poverty"
Poverty, nothingr snorted good-na-
tured, voluble Jennie; don't you know
Howard has said dozen times that ne
and Bess might have had their COM
Portable bungalow year before they
did If he had realized that five Of you
were dressing on an income hardly suf-
ficient for three"
Eyes, dear, l know, and thanks to
your clever fingers, we four are still
fairly decent on that same income
hardly sufficient for three" She
patted her mothers fat hands lying
idle In her lap as she spoke. "You
know Dan isn't like Howard. Howard
had skimped along at home and, any
way, he loved Bess better"
"Well, doesn't Dan love Beauty, I'd
like to known
The Angel turned to her. Jennie was
irritable for once in her easy-going.
pleasure-lovlng life. The Angel could
not understand it. Her mother had al
ways been so far from irritable and
had been so much of a regular chum
that her girls fondly called her "Jen-
ME-" with no thought of irreverence
or disrespect. Mother" simply didn't
fit her; she was Jennie" with heavy
mop of faded goldfish hair above face
still childishly pretty and fair. But
her body didn't agree with her face,
for she was frankly fat and pudgy. Her
feet were always a trial; they were
numbers too small to support the
weight of her body. Jennie" was sell
dom In evidence when company was
about, but her presence was always
felt, and she was referred to as often
and as fondly by all the sisters as If
she had been a seventh wonder. The
Angel regarded her severely. "Why,
Jennie, you are actually peevish, and,
judging by your tone, one would think
you doubted Dams affection for
Beauty"
swell, Beauty is getting restless, and
that young reporter on the Star, Ted
Hammer, keeps hanging around.
Beauty must have a new dancing frock
for the Millard's ball, and don't know
where 1t is coming FROM" She sighed
heavily. Honestly, Angel. l some
times feel that 1t isn't worth while to
try to catch a wealthy husband. Just
medium one ought to satisfy even
Beauty. / doubt If she would be any
happier In a fOurteen-room house than
she would be In a four-room one. If
she loves Dan and not his money, four
rooms would be sufficient, and if she
doesn't, why forty-four wouldn't make
her happy"
The Angel laughed outright "Why
Jennie Cogdal, who ever heard of you
philosophizing thusly-you who are a
living, sunny philosophy all by your
self. Get up and don your most COM
| Portable bedroom slippers, and Well
sally forth for a stroll around the
vegetable garden! Mayhap the sweet
spring breeze the babbling brook and
the singing of many birds will re-
store you to your former care-free
state of mind, and"
Jennie seized her and shook her
roughly. "If it weren't for your fool
ishness and fun, the Cogdal family
would be a stale bunch of beauties"
she said.
"Well, Jen, If we couldn't all be
beauties, we surely needed to be fool
ish." She smiled her implsh, crooked
smile. "There is just one good thing
about being hOmely, and that Is that
one needn't worry about losing ones
beauty; and if ones complexion hap
pens to be the color of delicious weak
tea, why, faded lavender crepe de chine
plus a packet of diamond dye a la
golden brown, transforms weak-tea
complexion into rich cream" She pat
ted down the folds of a miraculously
transformed dress which had been dis
carded as Impossible" by an elder SIS
ter. The Angel was honestly, undeni-
| ably homely. Her hair was of no par
ticular color and did not curl her nose
nondescript like the rest of her face /;
her teeth even, but not white. In most
stories all homely girls have beautiful
dreamy eyes, but the Angels eyes
matched her face; they were neither
gray nor blue, but in between the two.
True, she had mellow contralto voice,
but nobody ever thought of asking her
to sing except after a picnic supper
around a campfire. when every one
else was too well content to do any
thing except listen. And. too, she had
her inimitable crooked smile.
As unlike her as it is possible for a
twin to be was the Beauty-tall, grace
full, with fair, wavy hair, deep, inno-
cent blue eyes, full, red lips and skin
of baby fairness. From early baby
hood she had been called beauty,
and, in order to defend the homely
twin. their mother had always said