St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-04-14
Easter Apple Blossoms.


Odea. Her sweet bright face, en-
circled by the fur-lined hood of her
scarlet cloak, was almost as brown as
gipsy's her large tender eyes were
quite as brown as the haZel-nut when
it first falls from the tree at Autumn's
bidding; and her hair ripping over
her low forehead nearly to her lovely
arched eyebrows, with here and there
CLINT of gold appearing and disap
pearing in the most delightfully."- unex
pected manner, was browner than Ell
ther. And with all this wealth OF
warmest brown was mingled wealth
of glowing crimson, tinting the small
chin and the tips of the little ears with
"A faint hue like that which the early
orchard flowers know, but making the
softly rounded cheeks and prettily
curved mouth to rival in beauty of col
or the summers red, red rose. She
was poor little maiden, the only
child of IA widowed mother, this charm
ing Celestine but Miss Pauline Stahl,
the rich farmers daughter, albeit just
returned from fashionable boarding
school, was not half so graceful hay,
nor half so retined-as she. The
sound of Pauline's voice tioated back
to her, as she hastened hOmeward this
frosty, sunny Christmas morn, from
the sleigh in which the farmers daugh-
ter and the handsome young gentle
man visiting at the farmers house
drove by. 1t was a merry sound.
"And so it should be-" thought Celes-
tine ''She is rich, and almost beau
ty, and has IA dear father as well as IL
dear mother to care for and love her.
And oh ! what il splendid lover she
has for | suppose he is her lover.
They make fine pair, both of the
same height q wish l were few
inches taller), though think it would
be better if she were Il little darker.
She is almost as fair as he, but his hair
is brighter, and his eyes are Il darker
blue. He has heaven-bOrn eyes"
From all of which it will be seen
that our gypsy faced maiden must have
studied the face of the stranger thor
oughly, shy as had been the few glances
she had cast his way as he sat oppo-
site her in the village church.
"Heighol" the girl sighed, still com
muning with herself as she rapidly
left the dainty tracks of her little feet
on the crisp white snow. 81 wonder
if any one will ever come accounting
|
like to come accounting" And then
she blushed, and threw "a quick glance
about her as though thought could
be heard, and if it could have been, be
heard by the occupants of sleigh Il
mile away, or any of the various friends
and neighbors who had turned into the
lanes and roads leading to their homes,
leaving her the single figure in the
fnr hnr ha la or
tage on the road from the church.
at the garden gate and pausing a mo-
ment under the leafless branches of
the old apple-tree to pat his shaggy
head, she suddenly remembered the
quaint superstition of which her moth
er had told her the night before, how
the young girls in that part of sunny
France from which her grandmother
came were wont to pluck tiny apple
boughs on Christmas morning, place
them in TASKS of water, and hang them
in the windows of their own rooms, to
be watched eagerly until the Easter
drew near, and then if but one apple
blossom came to gladden. the sight of
her who watched, so surely would she
be bride before the year was ont !;
and, standing on tiptoe, she broke Il
slender branch from the tree, and car
ried it, hid beneath her scarlet cloak,
to her cheerful coy room beneath the
cottage caves. Here she took the only
pretty flask she had (Tom Pray had
given to her, filled with rose perfume,
for ii New Years gift, two years be
I fore), and filling it with clear soft wa
ter from the pitcher on her table, she
planted the bOugh therein, and swung
it with silken cord between the snow
white curtains of her window. On this
window Gt faced the south) the sun
shine fell almost all day, and cleaned
and glowed and rainbowed in the cut
glass flask, and warmed and cheered
the lonely wee branch, until, forget
4 ting its parent tree, it began to grow
and bud, and 10 and behold the very
: day before Easter, a subtle fragrance
, tloated through the attic, and the buds
: had burst into delicate pink white
T. blossoms.
Away went Celestine with the flask
j. in her hand to seek the mother from
b. whom she had never kept a thought
since first she could give thought
speech.
The widow, IL brisk, bright eyed
d body. proof of whose French origin
was to be found in every irregular fea-
ture of her dark face, was kneading
e the bread in the kitchen-a pleasant
room that opened on the back porch.
;, Outside in the garden the fowls were
: growing and clucking, and every now
and then "A strong breeze swept through
!, the branches of the oak by the kitchen
: door, and entering the room by the
-f,
5 of the bread-maker and made them to
;, float like streamers upon the air.
Celestine hastened to close the win
: dow and set the door little ajar in
5 stead, as her mother, looking up from
her work, said, smilingly: "What
II have you been doing so long, lazy one
Il Why have you not come to the help OF
II your poor old mother before n
: "Poor old mother ~ repeated the
"a girl with a merry laugh. "YOu are
e younger and brighter this moment than
d your daughter. But see, mother dear
% one, two, three apple blossoms, and
there need be but one. | am sure tC
> to be bride before the year is gone.
"And are you so glad of that, Tina 2
asked the mother, with mock reprOach
$50 glad to think of leaving me anC
the dear old cottage where you wer,
born And pray who is to be tn,
bridegroom 7"
~ shall not leave you, and | do no
D. want to leave the cottage. And whC
in the bridegroom is to be | haven't tn,
s slightest idea" replied Tina, with an
y. other merry laugh. "There is no on,
Is in this place | should ever care to hav,
Or for sweetheart, not even Tom Pray
= I L.
me for many years-since we wer,
al children together. Oh. mother. if