Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-04-24

"There is one for whom life is Fortunate
unused the artist "How readily / can picture
him attaining maturity, smiling and good
humored, and growing old in that charming
home, surrounded by friendsi"
The girl had clasped her hands ON the young
mans arm, and gazed up into his face He
responded to this thoughtful scrutiny by
touching her hair lightly, caressingly with
his lips, and then speaking with careless
laugh:
@Well, have consented to go to Minnesota
for the winter, May. Such nonsense as it is
/ should prefer Paris or Italy. A mere trife
of cough, and all the doctors looking so
wise and glum. They rejoice to secure a
case l suppose"
May disengaged her hands from his arm
and plucked a camelia Her face was as I'M
troubled as his own.
II shall return in the spring for our we'd
ding, dearest he continued. "What a
weather-roughened giant you will have for a
bridegroom"
Henry, take me with you," she pleaded,
softly. do not go away all alone, dear Let
us be married tomorrow"
"Without the Worth trousseau, ma mig
nome, and a great receptiong" he questioned,
half mockingly
"You should be gallant, and say something
about beauty unadorned,n said May, tossing
the camelia at him.
Then the brilliant eyes of the young man
clouded the rich color in his check paled with
the emotion which made his lips tremble
my noble girl My good little wife!' he
whispered folding her closely in his embrace.
Agnes Clement witnessed this scene without
divining all its significance, and tender smile
dawned on her own face The homely devotion
L -
scented dominions did not touch her. The
meeting of the two young people in the con-
servatory moved her profoundly. Was not
her artistic taste gratified by their beauty
the light shed through the silk curtains be-
hind them, the rosy simmer of the girls
draperies, and the shadow of exotic plants
meeting above their headsl She remained
there motionless long after the pair had dis
appeared her eyes fixed on the fallen plant
which still rested on the ledge The stone
work blanched, in contrast, the delicate white
blossoms to snow, and the moonbeams touched
each petal with a silvery luster. The plant
had been cast out into the frosty night, to die
and be forgotten in the cold purity of the
moonlight and beneath the cruel brillianny of
the distant stars If she could have rescued
it from such death, she would have done SO;
but she was powerless to avert evil. Slowly
she returned to her room, extingushed the
light, and sought forgetfulness in sleep. The
journal containing the advertisement of Lang
& Co. remained on the finor where she had
thrown it down at an earlier hour.
Next morning her first thought was of the
neglected plant. Had it survived the night
What had become of its She FASTENED to see.
The conservatory sparkled in the morning
Light and the plant remained ON the cornice
Hedge. Yes, it had persisted during the night.
Already the leaves were shriveled and black
ened, the spray of blossoms dropped wan and
ghostly in the dawn retaining the rose tints
of a shell. As Agnes looked at it, the early
sunshine, which smote the sparkling eolors
from the glass dome, like the prism of c crys-
tai, also touched the dead flowers with
warm, golden rays Thus the flower soul
might be absorbed in sunshine and waited on
she thought.
Suddenly the artist put her hand to her
forehead, as if preoccupied with thought, her
eyes dilated, and smile impaired warm
glow to her usually pale face.
At breakfast she was silent, replying
vaguely to the conversation of her brother
in-law. Afterward she went out, and was
absent two hours. Returning, she shut herself
in the studio, and spread about her recent
purchases-sheets of paper, new brushes and
a box of water colors Then she began to
work, and as she worked a soft, grooming
song welled up to her lips unconsciously.
One Saturday evening, when the little
clerk had returned home at an early hour
and was warming his feet luxuriously in slip
pers before the fire, he was surprised by the
hasty entrance of Agnes. Her face was ami
mated, and she held sheet Of paper in her
hand.
Humphrey, have decided to compete for
the prize of the Easter card, she said,
quietly. Tell me if you like my design"
Husband and wife fastened to inspect the
proffered sketch. They saw an uprooted
plant caught on a stone parapet, the blossoms
still tinged with rose even in death Above