Savannah morning news., 1885-05-29
THE BOUQUET OF vIoLETs.
How a Young French student Won His
Sweetheart.
From the Veto York Telegram.


From the Neto York Telegram.
He was called Leon; she Claire.
He was student and dwelt in the Rue
de la Niellle-Comedie; she in the Rue de
la Michodiere.
/ They were cousins. The father of Claire,
when young man, had come to Paris,
where, as Notary, he had amassed con-
siderable fortune.
The father of Leon had remained in his
native province, where, as collector of
taxes in small town, he lived on an in
come of 3.600f
| Leon loved his cousin and had declared
els passion. Claire loved Leon, and al
though she had never confessed her love,
she had let him find it out for himself.
| Leon, who was provident young man,
| began the month, on the first day of
which he received his allowance from his
/ father, by paying for his lodgings, settling
his account at a little restaurant, and by
paying the twenty francs which he gave
every month to his tailor on account for
the clothes he had had made on his arri-
| val in Paris. Then out of the dozen or
fifteen francs which remained, he always
put aside as many two-sou pieces as there
were days in the month. for with these ne
bought the little bouquet of viOlets which
he daily offered his cousin on visiting her
between and o'clock in the evening.
Claire had let Leon discover that she
loved him. The discovery was made in
this manner: Every evening Clare, in
exchange for the bouquet which Leon
brought. gave him the bouquet which he
had left on the preceding day, and which
she drew from her bosom rs she replaced
it with the fresh flowers; and Leon
pressed to his lips this dear relic, sweet
with the virginia. fragrance of the being
whom he loved.
For three months they had made every
evening this charming exchange. For a
month past it had been made with these
words: "Claire, do you love meY The
faded bouquet replied, Yes"
But this did not satisfy Leon. He beg
ged, he implOred her to give him that
other answer, which is not spoken but
whispered. He longed for that first kiss,
that ardent confession. tnnt exchange of
manly passion and virginia. frankness,
that union Of souls, that marriage of the
lips, of which perfect love is born.
Each evening Leon was sad, even in the
midst of his happiness, for each evening
this was denied him.
All! if the bouquet which he took away
with him, and which he pressed to, his
lips, could have told how often
its fragance had been inhaled;
how often it had been kissed
for his sake by the young girl,
who gave to 1t what she had refused her
lover. Ah if it could have repeated to
him all the sweet and pretty phrases
which she addressed to it each evening in
her chamber and could have told how,
breath NJ the delicate perfume of those
little flowers which symbolized modesty
and innocence, she gaZed into vacancy
with eyes full of languishing love, MUIR
muring to herself a secret confession
without dreaming, however, of cOmmuni-
eating it to him who was the object Of all
that emotion!
But the flowers were mute, and poor
Leon, also in turn kissing them and
breathing their fragrance, could not read
in them the secret of love.
Leon had m9de his first visit to his
cousin on the LIST OfJanuary. 1t was now
| the 3lst of March. AS well as the poor
| student had managed his finances, he
! found, as he descended the stairs from his
room to pay his visit to his cousin, that
| he had only the two sous saved to pur-
chase the bouquet Of Violets for her. He
was not, however, sad on that account.
on the previous evening, when she re-
| turned his bouquet, Clare had been
charming. She had talked with him for
an hour, hand in hand; and, if he had not
touched her cheek, he had seemed to scent
it's bloom; if he had not touched her lips,
| he had caught her breath.
| He had come so near kissing her that it
| seemed to him that kiss, like bill pay
able to order, was due at the end of the
month.
/ All along the way Leon, holding his
! head high like successful lover on the
point of triumphing, looked for a flower
/ girl from whom to purchase his offering
/ for the day.
/ lie had, however, reached the Rue de la
/ MIchOdere and was quite near Claire's
/ house without having been able to buy a
/ bouquet. He was about to retrace his
/ steps in quest of the flowers when a few
1 steps to the LETT of the door he knew so
well he saw a flower girl and on the
right poor woman holding sick child in
/ her arms.
Leon, almost heartbrOken, turned from
| the poor woman, approached the flower
! girl, and selected the freshest of the bou
4 quets of viOlets. But as he offered the
two sous in payment the beggar woman
| cried:
'Charity, if you please, for my poor
/ child"
Leon looked toward her. He saw the
/ poor creature, meagre. pale, with her child
even more meagre and pale than she.
/ His heart was filled with sadness. If he
/ did not have the bouquet for Claire he
Wculd get no kiss.
/ Presently he let the bouquet fall in the
/ flower girl's basket and gave the two sous
/ to the poor woman. Then, with heavy
heart, he mounted the stairs, stopped at
the first floor and rang the bell.
| Claire herself opened the door. Be-
fore he could recover from his astonish-
ment she threw herself on his neck and
embraced him.
When he asked what had brought him
such happiness she replied:
IL have seen ALL"