Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-06-25

little one?"
eyes. Here, child, p" breaking off anoth
er little branch and giving it to her.
He watched her from the car window
take off her old hat and stow away her
treasure in it. and then, clasping it close
to her breast, set off on run down toward
the lower part of the city.
When he reached home and gave the
branch to his wife, her faded, peevish fac7
relaxed into smile that was almost sweet
as she took them from his hand.
'sApple blossoms!" she said. "How beau
tiful they are! Do you remember, Daniel,
the apple blossoms that we gathered thir-
teen years ago?' and in another minute he
and she together were recalling old times
and associations. until the years that lay
between their apple blossom times and
now had dropped 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 jagged little girl meanwhile ran on
for quite a little way until she came to one
of those narrow, filthy courts, crowded with
tenement houses and streaming with horri.
BILE odors in the warm May sunshine. She
entered one Of the tenement houses and
ran lightly up the steps to her especial do
main, little room where, besides herself,
only Biddy Mccarthy with her husband
and baby lived. Biddy was sitting near
the window rocking the baby in her arms
when the child entered.
"Whist, Meg! The baby is awful sick!"
"Don't he get aly better, Biddy?" asked
Meg, creeping softly to her side.
"No, ne don't. Oh, if l only had him
home in the green fields of ould Ireland,
he'd be we'll entirely; but how can he
breathe in this sitting room?'
"Look here, Biddy. See what I've got"
And Meg took off her has and showed the
precious spray of apple blossoms: sDo
you think that came from the green fields
[ ye spoke about?"
Biddy gazed at it in wonder and delight.
sob, the purity things!" she exclaimed
s'It's just the picture of those I've seen
| many's the time growing in the orchards
[ in the ould country. Let me take it, Meg"
| She held it close to her face and drank
in the fresh, sweet perfume eagerly. Then
she put it down to the baby, and he feebly
smiled.
''See!' cried Biddy. "He knows the
swate things He'll get better now Take
it away, and put 1t in water, Meg, and set
! it where he can see it,
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
b ddy's tales of the s'ould country" till
night came, and she had to GO to bed; but
she slept with one hand on the bottle in
which her treasure was.
| About midnight she was reused from
! strange dreams of great forests of beauti-
full posies like hers by shrin cry of ter
| ror and agony.
! she started up, calling ''Biddy Biddy
what is it?' aid was answered by the cry,
Cob, my baby. my baby! My baby dead!"
and the low moan of anguish from the
stricken mother. She did the best she
could to comfort her, but what could a
child do for broken heart?
The next day the body was ready for the
funeral. The mother sat on the floor be-
side the little pine coffin in stony despair,
when Meg crept softly up and laid her
cherished branch, now reduced to two
faded blossoms and one just-hursting pink
bud, in the baby's hand.
Biddy looked up and burst into tears.
sGod bless you,. Meg" she sobbed. 'Shure
| there's lots o. blossoms where he is now,
the darlint, but it's I that's glad to see
these purity posies in his little hand. oh,
my baby my baby!'
| Mr.. Edison, for his part, went down to
his brothers office and entered with lit
| tie hesitation. The brother, man older
| than Edison, with one of those stern, self
repressed faces which say as plainly as
words could, give had hard life, and 1
don't care cent about you. I'll have
what can get. whether you suffer or not, )"
started as Edison came in. His eyes rested
an instant longingly on the apple bios
SONS; but the next moment he drew back,
saying coldly, ''Did you wish to see me?''
Eyes, George answered Edison, ing-
| ering the flowers awkwardly, 81 came to
see about that matter-that-that proper
ty, you know. It's pity we should quar-
rel about it, and-and-well, don't care.
You're the oldest and had the hardest row
to hoe always, and I guess likely there was
fully my share spent on me when was IN