The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-02-04
FROM III" .Ncm Iork weakly D,&patch.
BREAD UPON THE WATERS.
Bi HELEN + GRAVES.

you might trace that in her hollow check
and the StranT', unnatural lustrc of he
large blue eycs-,hc flame cf life was burn
very low Oh The altar of her childish bcin.
yet here she was alone. The old arm cli
in which she rcclinrl was cushioned witt
one or two pillows and rude pine bo,
was the sole support of her tiny, blu,
vcincd feet. There WAS no carpc, on I'll,
mouldering foor, aud in more than on,
place door and window l!;rl vicldr.! to til,
rc'norscleSs hand of decay, and presented ;
most dilapila,r, aspect. Yet ;il Tic scan
ty furniture WAS arranged Is neatly us pos
"i''e' and there WAS even som" taiut at
tempts at taste, us in Il Tit OF ga,v c"!nrrd
chlntz spread over the chil.i> in",>t"nl. and
4 solitary flower placed in the window seal,
where sunbcams could touch il, emerald
Leaves.
That flower. had been poor ka,v'> com.
panion long. Its royal beauty an! luNuli.
s'nce seemed strange an! ont Of place il,
the squallid. low-ccilc,l room vc' it grew
and flourislled there, us if its roots h;nl been
nourlsl!cd in the velvet sol Of B.n,!rnrrl ;
stream. And little Katy lay back in her
comfortIess clair, and l""kcd ut the >,Irn-
did rose which 4rivcrch like :, ruby drop
among the leaves. and watched the SUNLIGHT
writing its golden message on the c,ir>"!.
folds of the blossom with Il vague i,ein..
of wonder
1t WAS SO strange that the radiant sun.
whose glory lay on marble pillars and state,
ly dwellings far away should come to peel,
'nto her lonely, lonely room
" Is that You, .Jamic'" she sai,l. softly.
as the door opened, and boy OF twelve
came in.
"les. DO YOU feel any better, Katy ,
Are YOU tired Of being left alone"
And the boy locked ,cnhyr!y into her
blue eyes, and parted the auburn hair from
her forehead. with Il loving touch
"Not very, In: there is such weary
aching round my heart, and sometimes it
seems all on fire. How cool your hand
feels, jamie"
Never mind, Katy, I've been saving
wood and earned Il whole quarter, and I'm
going to lay it ont in apples and oranges to
sell down town. I'll make a mint of money
and then wont VIC have -nm! su,ucr
when mother comes home from work.
shouldn't wonder if we had :; lit of cake
and bunch Of grapes over and above the
medicine tl'at the Di>pensary doctor order
cd for you p
Katy smiled and shook her head, as if
dcprccating this piece Of cxtravagance.
"lcs we will, Katy" resumed her broth
er, "ta'n: often We taste anything but dry
bread and cheese, and havn't forgotten
that it's your birthday, sis-you're len
Years old to-day. ]iesi,lcs, You need some.
thing to put Il Shade OF color into these pale
checks the doctor said YOU must have
Hcth'ng to tempt your appetite"
f1e bent down to kiss the marble fore
Fad rs he spoke.
How lovely that rose is, to be sure!
almost as good as company to you,
~, isn't it? Are you willing should
Ec you alone again for II little willie 2"
Yes, Jamie, don't mind it much," she
severed, with deep, weary sigh, "but
Fturn as soon as YOU can, plcasc!'
And her wistful, hollow eyes watched
f,o I,o IL, ~.
ling look that we only find beneath The very
shadow Of death.
Down at the piers al was confusion and
nproar-busy passengers hurrying from
newly arrived boats-turLid waters flashing
and rolling against messy pSts-swaying
crowds and loud, dissonant voices, created
q small Bedlam around the docks, and little
Jamie wandered around with his board of
fruit, feeling very lonely and bewil,lered.-
He had piled up the golden oranges with
their sunniest sides upwarl-Le had pol
ished the rcd checked apples until they
shone like mirrors-yet nobody stopped to
buy. =
Carriage, sir?" "Takc you to the As
tor House," "Up Broadway in twink
ling, ma'am r. "Ere's your 'E'ruld, Tri-
bune and Express. --latest steamer from
Europe! Have paper, sir ?"
Poor Jamie amid all this tulnult, what
ieehance had he of being heard or noticed 2
Hehad picked out the very buncl, of grapes
that lie intended for Katy, in T"ylor's win
dow, as lie came by-a plump, ,apople,ic
bunch, dangling from cri'nsonss sAEead,
where the sunshine lay full on the pafPie
bloom, and amethystic shadows lurked
among its fullness of fruilage. Just at pres
ent the tempting morsel seemed very far off
to Jamie's imagination.
~. ...,y