St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-06-04
almost sweet as she took them from his

Daniel, the apple blossoms that we
gathered thirty years ago?" and in an
other minute he and she together were
recalling old times and associations,
until the years that lay betw cen their
apple blossom times and now had drop
ped away, and the light and glory of
past days once more shed itself upon
the gray hairs of the husband and the
faded cheek of the wife.
The ragged little girl meanwhile ran
on for quite Il little way till she came
to one of those narrow, filthy courts
crowded with tenement houses and
steaming with horrible odors in the
warm May sunshine. She entered one
of the tenement houses and ran lightly
up the steps to her especial domain,
little room where, besides herself, only
Biddy Mccarthy with her husband and
baby lived. Biddy was sitting near
the window rocking the badly in her
arms when the child entered.
sick!"
"Don't he get any better, Biddy ?"
asked Meg, creeping softly to her side.
mo, he don't. Oh, if l only had him
home III the green fields of ould Ireland
he'd be well entirely; but how can he
breathe in this shifting room?n
Look here, Biddy. See what I've
got" And Meg took off her hat and
showed the precious spray of apple
blossoms. "DO ye think that came
irOm the green fields ye spoke about ~
Blddy gazed at it in wonder and de-
llgnt' "Oh, the perty thing" she ex-
CANNED. "lts just the picture of those
I've seen many's the time growing in
the orchards in the old country. Le'
me take it, Meg.n
She held it close to her face and
drank IN the fresh, sweet perfume ca
gerly Then she put it down to the
baby, and he feebly smiled.
"Seem cried Biddy. "He knows
the swate things! He'll get better now.
lake 1t away and put it in water, Meg,
and set it where he can see it.n
Meg ran off and soon returned with
an old backing bottle full of water.
into which she stuck the precious twig,
Then she sat down to look at it and
listen to Biddy's tales of the could
country" till night came, and she had
to go to bed, but she slept with one
hand on the bottle in which her treas
ure was.
About midnight she was reused from
strange dreams of great forests of beau.
tiful posies like hers by a shrill cry o
terror and agony.
She started up calling "Biddy! Bid,
dy! what is it ?" and was answered by
a cry, "Oh, my baby, my baby! My
baby's dead!" and the low moan of an.
guish flOm she stricken mother. She
did the best she could to comfort her
but what could child do for broken
heart?
The next day the body was ready fol
the funeral. The mother sat on the
floor beside the little pine coffin in
stony dispair when Meg crept softly up
and laid her cherished branch, now re-
duced to two faded blossoms and one
just bursting pink bud, in the baby's
hand. Biddy looked up and burst into
tears "GOd bless you, Meg,n she sob
bed. ''Shure, there's lots of blossoms
where he is now, the darlint, but it's l
that's glad to see the purity posies in his
little hand. Oh, my baby! my babyr"
Mr.. Edison, for his part, went down
to his brothers Office and entered with
little hesitation. The brother, man
older than Edison, with one of those
stern, self-repressed faces which say as
plainly as words could, "I've had a
hard life and don't care cent about
you. I'll have what can get, wheth-
er you suffer or not" started as Edison
came in. His eyes rested an instant
longingly on the apple blossoms; but
the next moment he drew back, asking,
coldly, did you wish to see me?"
Yes, George" answered Edison, fin
gering the flowers awkwardly, 81 came
TO see about that matter-that-th
property, you know. It's a pity we
should quarrel about it and-and-well
don't care. You're the oldest and
had the hardest row to hoe always,
and l guess likely there was fully my
share spent on me when l was in col
lege; and see here, old fellow, I'll do
whatever you say if you'll speak to
your lawyer, and send him to my
otficen
There was moments silence, and
the younger Edison, looking down, saw
his brother put his hand to his throat
as If he were choking. The next mo-
ment the elder spoke almost as awk-
wardly as his brother had done.
sit wasn't the money cared for, but
but wanted the old place. well, |
l had some associations with it,"
The younger brother started. Asso-
Citations? What associations of pleas
ure could George have with the old
place? There were none, there could
be none except those with Lucy Baird,
who had been for one short year his
own wife, now laid away in Green
wood. He sprang forward, George,
did you care for her? You could have
won her if you had tried, and you knew
1t. She cared for me first because l !
was your brother. Dido you mean
to say you gave up the chance of win
ming her for me?n
For a minute or two the Edsops
might as well have been a couple of
Frenchmen meeting after long sepa-
ration. The elder was the first to re-
cover himself
'.There, there, John," he said in ex-
actly the same way he used to speak
when they were boys together, ''Pve
been hard, but you see L never had
wife to soften me, and l intended to
pay you for your share of the property
at first, but-well, it's no use talking it |
over. of course you didn't know, but
kept thinking you might have known
II you wanted to. But there, never
mind that now. Did you know that
Midland Bonds are going up9 Tn
make good thing ont of them yet.n
81 can't stay" answered Edison, open
ing the door, "but I'll see you again.
Come up to dinner with me, won't
you7"
Il will answered his brother, hear
tlly, and with a cordial hand-shake
they parted.
The younger brother went STRAIGHT