Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1878-12-05

out faded white rose, and broken
straw, the definition of which she knew
too well-the former meaning, " l loved
you once" and the latter-ob, cruel stab
THUS do break my fettersl'
Nellie, scarlet with Indignation, flung
! the letter out of the open door, motioned
Briggs to follow (which he did more
amazed than ever--and then sank upon q
chair in an agony of tears.
All this sorrow was caused b. Briggs
weakness for cricket. He had stopped
TO have game on his way, and put the
letter in his pocket, whereby the rose was
faded and tie straw broken.
LEAF THREE.
| Our hero was waiting patiently in the
garden when Briggs ran up, looking very
frightened, and holding out the rejected
billet d0ur in his hand.
He q. once broke ont in a string of dis
Jolnted sentences concerning his luckless
adventure.
VI guy it to her. said he, sand, when
she took cut the brukkcn straw an the
faded rose, she turned me an the letter
fair out O. the house."
Broken" echoed Fred. Faded p
Then light suddenly dawned upon him
ibid you get playing on the road, sirG
Answer me" he added, shaking the un-
happy messenger violently.
u only commenced Briggs, fear
fully; ana then he began to blubber, and
applied the sleeve of his smoek to his eyes
in most woebegone manner.
! '"For goodness sake, run home before
I'm angry with you" said our hero; and
Briggs 0beyed, thinking it very strange
affair altogether.
Fred ran in, thinking, perhaps, he had
seSt the wrong emblems, and looked
again at his Language of Flowers"
Ne they were quite right.
Just then his eyes caught an item, as
follows: "White rose 0aded)--I love
you once;' and he groaned. Then he
turned TO another page, and had another
shock on seeing these words: "Straw
| (broken) Thus do break my letters p
That was truly the last straw which
broke the calnel's back. Fred leaned
! back in his chair, and almost cried with
vexation, to think of the sorrow his care
| less messenger had caused.
The shades of evening began to fall;
still he sat there thinking how he could
| heal this fresh wound.
! Meanwhile, unhappy Nellie sat crying
in her dreary parlor. All, me!
LEAF FOUR.
At last our hero came to resolution.
He would go and see Nellie and explain
the whole of the wretched blunder.
He was soon striding away over the
fields in tiutter of hope and excitement.
The sun was just sinking in dazzling
mass of gold IS he reached his destina-
len.
He tapped gently on the door, but OBJ
tanned no answer, so he softly lifted the
latch and stepped gently inside.
| Nellie was sitting by the window, her
face buried in her hands--sitting still as
| death.
Fred advanced noiselessly and touched
her on the arm.
She spCang hastily up, and, seeing who
| it was-crimson with anger and wounded
Pride--she ordered him to leave the
house; but the effort was too much for
her, and she sank upon her chair again,
sobbing as though her poor, innocent lit
tie heart would break
| In aR instant the little schoolmaster
was on his knees by her side, and in less
than two minutes had poured the whole
his CRY of The mistake into Nellie's will
ing ear.
In another five minutes they were bet.
| ter friends than ever.
The schoolboys were surprised next
day when our hero, in addition to half
holiday, gave them penny apiece all
around.
But they did not know what we do,
did they9
Briggs has been forgiven. He often
carries messages from Mr.. Frederick
| Woodnan to Miss Nellie Morris, but they
are invariably in plain black and white.
The little schoolmaster has had enough
for little while of the language of flow
ers.