Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-08

;nea. What wonder, then, II the e'rls
much loved and courted, forgot the
| friend whose form was lost N the cities
duss. and IL she adorned the altar OF ner
heart with new. living images. He at
least. thought Il quite natural"
!" lie aid her an injustice" Selma
h~ola IN. ;mpaticntly. /" She ------'
!. stop / You do not know my his
,orv 81 all" said he. " The poor fellow
fell himself really bereft of peace
without his h-Blossom. But ne
was proud. II she would not OF ner
own free will bestow and keep her
heart for him till he could come and
claim it, then she should never surmise
what he had dreamed and hoped Tor.
Yet he could not deny himself the
privilege, now and then, OF casting .
stolen, inquiring look ihto her Ire, ana
found II very serene. very much aver
SIZED, very much--occupied.
THUS no came, once upon time
n was = festive day in the family. The
Heath blossom celebrated her eighteenth
! birthday. There was really no oppor-
,nn;tv for an undisturbed interview,
nor did he seek one. He was proud,
as / have already stated, and defiant
into the bargaisi for she was so cheer
full, so self-contained, so full OF lie,
so--beautiful. Two young
gentlemen seemed especially earnest 10
sha,r attentions TO Heath Blossom. The
friend Of her youth anticipated no plea
sure in entering the field as No. g.
particularly on this account, because 1t
WAS said the slender Blonde would
come out winner in the struggle. lie
had purchased the adjoining property,
and his looks expressed the confidence
that the next step would be an advance
from neighbor to member OF the
family"
"Did she show her preference for
him SO clearly" asked Selma. at the
same time decapitating an innocent
stalk ofwheat.
"As to that, cannot say. 1t ap-
peared so. Yes, yes,-just as if
Enough. lie
"Why do you not give him q name,
Arnold? He must have had one, ii
this history is no fiction"
"Call him anything you please, as
far as | am concerned Across the
Field; but, now, no further Interrupt
ton. He became inwsrdly sadder and
ssdder, but outwardly merrier every
hour. What great thirst, what a
loud laugh he has brought with him
from the city, probably thought the
Heath Blossom.
"But Across the Field said to
himself" Put on a bold face, my
young fellow; you must be silent
must take your hat and 90 again, I'M
less perchance in some weak moment
you open to her your heart, and receive
from her red, rosy lips the reply, Il
am sorry. / can make no use of it.
Keep up bold face, my young Eel
low"
"why did be not go away at once
Selma. There still lived in his soul a
feeble little hope, which whispered to
him, Just try. Think out a way to
test her heart. Perhaps y Golden,
delusive little word "
I" AS have said, the day had brought
guests to the house. In the afternoon
they went for a long walk; and, as
field and meadow stood in their sum
mer splendor, they did not fail to en-
gage in gathering flowers. Then Across
the Field found what he sought for, the
way by which he could arrive at GER
tainty as regards the feelings of Heath
Blossom. He went to work to play
va banque with fate. He staked hi
hfe's happiness on the oracular re
Spouse of an accident. 1t was more
than frivolous; it was criminal, Selma
but who will judge dangerously ii
person" -.
"Please tell me, Arnold, what die
he do?"
Nothing much something which
had the appearce of gallant joke. H
made the proposal to the other gentle
men Of the party to exclude the ladie
from the labor Of gathering flowers
then to lay the bouquets at the feet o
the birthday heroine as symbol 0
their knightly fidelity, and added
Each one OF us may choose q particu
lar flower, which he wishes to gather
by that it will be settled at the clos
who has applied himself most diligentl
to the task, and consequently deserve
most favor from the queen Of the day
By this our little tournament will rt
ceive happy significance So it wa
done.
1.-THE Blonde selected the cornhower
his rival the poppy Across the Field
chose the wild forget-me-not. Heatl
Blossom smiled at this because she VOL
a small bunch of that in her hair. III
others followed with every variety tn
wood and meadow could supply. Whe
the company returned home the flowe
were thrown aside and entirely forge
ten in the indulgence Of new pastim
Only one person did not forget, but &C
lected the bouquets lying scatter,
, around and distributed them, with Il
exception OF the three specially signi
} cant ones--tbe cornhower, poppy, al
, forget-me-not--out into the vases stan
ing around. These flowers he careful
arranged, counted the separate ster
, oror mora than once with CO
scientious accuracy, and laid t
a bunch, with apparently no design, up
g the small workable Of the Heat
a Blossom, near to the little black boo
|. with the name in silver on the cove
d which he recognized as an old acquail
> ance. 1t was Morike's poems. Acre
N the Field knew the habits Of the 6
by heart. He knew that within sh'
}. time she would quietly come up, wal
4, the flowers, and place them in Il
At maiolica vase, which was still emp
r. Meanwhile they went to the 81
ID portable. After that came the dan
Across the Field tried to appear !
10 concerned until the moment came WI
,k he could return unremarked into
sitting-room.
nd "Just so There stood the flow
on already in the vase--his oracle,
is fate He stepped nearer, BREATH
nv with suspense, and began to CO
ne them---once, twice-the third til
There was one missing, only one sin