Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-09-28

OXlde OF IRON, sulphate OF copper, etc,
mixed with the soil in which the seed
leaves were growing, and the more his
roses persisted in coming out red or
white, the more he appealed to new
ways of producing the flower If which
he had so often dreamed. The poor
man kept up the struggle for FIVE years
it ended in q catastrophe.
Jeanne, who was in her 21st year,
fell dangerously i'll. The young wo.
man had begun to realize the abyss to
which this particular madness and the
pastoral ambition of the old ex-officer
was leading them. She clearly saw
the ruin that lay behind the mirage
which so dszzled her father. She
would have been strong against a mis-.
fortune of this sort, but she loved and
was loved by s. good, honest fellow, a
Ilourneyman cabinet maker, who, when
he asked her father for nor hand, had
begged him to give up the chimerical
blue rose, and the dowry which il was
to furnish, declaring Jeanne's love was
all he wanted. Unfortunately. the
young man was taken by the conscrip-
ton, and lad to leave for the army.
This was too much for the already
badly weakened health of the poor
girl.
She fingered on for a month, and
when he saw that she was in danger
the old gardener became once more
the nurse of his child. He never once
thought of his roses. One day sher-
IFS officer came to give him notice
that an execution was put upon the
house. The good old papa shrugged
his shoulders and hastened back to his
daughters bedside. Day and night he
nursed her without taking any rest,
living on little bread that he ate in
secrecy and haste. Ali his care was of
no avail, for poor Jeanne died. 1t
seemed to the old man that his soul
had taken its flight along with that of
his daughter. He renamed for twenty
four hours motionless beside her body.
He saw her remaius nailed up in the
coffin. He followed the little procession
to the village churchyard, and there he
heard the sinister sound of the earth
taking possession of the new corpse
given to devour. Not a muscle of his
face betrayed the feelings he was ex-
perlencing; not ter from under the
eyelids that were now blood. red in color
Charitable neighbors led him to the
house, out Cf which he was driven next
day, by the law.
The old man silently made up little
package of the clothes he had worm
and WAS allowed to take away with him
a "a ] n Cd
hazard, and then, with his two pack
ages, hurried to the churchyard.
A year later, in the month of June,
the rosebush which M. Allan had
planted on the mound of earth under
which lay all he loved gave forth flow
ers whose singular color attracted the
attention of visitor to the place.
These flowers were of pale blue, as
though washed with white, and yet
distinctly marked. He called the keep
er and asked permission to take some
cuttings from it. When the latter re-
fused. the visitor offered him a large
sum of money for a single slip. By
chance he had run against an honest
man, who had told him no one hut the
father of her who slept under the
rosebush had right to dispose Of a
single leaf. However, yielding to the
resistance OF the stranger, the keeper
consented to send for Father Allan,
then an occupant OF the poorhouse not
far away.
The old man soon arrived, the keep
er opening q way for him through the
crowd Of curious persons that had form
ed around the marvellous rose bush
The stranger renewed his offers, but
Father Allan did not seem to hear
him. He contemplated with fever
ish eye the blooming flowers, and a
look of pain was noticed in his pale and
deeply -wrinkled face. All at once, with
a movement that was so sudden that
no one had time to stop him, he tore
up the bush by its roots, and broke 1t
into pieces between his hands and
trampled it under his feet
81 would have given you 10000 francs
for it," exclaimed the amateur.
"What use are blue roses" mourn
fully exclaimed the old man, "now that
she is NJ longer bere?"
He dropped On his knees beside
Jeanne's grave and began to weep.
Suddenly he fell forward, and when
kind men ard women stretched out
their hands to lift him up he was dead
.