Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-05-18
CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XIV.
ITO be Gretchen, you must count tho
leaves Of your daisies, /" he said TO her, as ho
painte1-painted her Just as she was, with
her two little white feet in tho wooden shoes,
and the thick green leaves behind the simplest
picture possible the dress Of gray--only cool
dark gray--with white linen bodice, and no
color anywhere except In the green Of tho
foliage; but where he meant the wonder and
the charm Of Il to lie was I'm the upraised,
serious, child like face, and the gaze Of tho
grave, smiling eyea
II wns Gretchen, spinning, out In tho open
air among tho flowers; Gretchen with the tall
dog daisies growing up about her feet, among
tho thyme and the roses, before she had had
need to gather ono to ask her futuro Of Its
parted leaves
The Gretchen Of Echeffer tells no tale; sho
Is a fair haired, hard working, simple minded
peasant, With whom neither angels nor devils
have anything to do, and whose eyes never
can open to either hell or heaven. but tho
Gretchen OF Flamen said much moro than
this; looking at It, men would sigh from
shame and women wecISfron) )orrow.
"Count the daisIesT" echoed Bebce "Oh,
I know what you mean. A little-much-
passionately-u death-not at all. What
one loves themi Is that III"
She looked at him without any conscious
ness-except as she loved the flowers.
'Do you think the daisies knowr' she went
on, seriously, parting their petals with her
fingers "Flowers do know many things
that Is certain"
"Ask them for yourself"
"Ask them whatT
"How much-any ono-loves your
''Oh, but every one loves me; there Is no
one that Is bad. Antoine used to say to me,
Never think Of yourself, Bebee; always think
Of other people, SO every ono will love you
And always try to do that, and every ono
does"
'But that is not tho love tho daisy tells Of
to your Sex"
.'NoF
"No; the girls that you see count the flow
ers-they arc thinking, not Of all tho village,
but of some one unlike all the rest. whose
shadow falls across theirs In the moonlight
You know thatF'
"Ah, yes-and they marry afterwards
yes"
She said It softly, musingly, with no embar-
rassment; 1t was an unreal, remote thing to
her, and yet It stirred her heart n little with
a vague trouble that was infinitely sweet.
There Is little talk Of love In the lives of
the poor; they have no space for IL; love to
them means more mouths to feed, more
wooden shoes to buy, moro hands TO dive into
the meager bag Of coppers Now and then
girl Of the commune had been married, and
had gone out just the same tho next day TO
her blowing In the fields or TO her lace weav.
ing In tho city Bebce had thought little of IT,
'They marry or they do not marry That
is as It may be-" said Flamen, with smile.
"Bebee, ! must paint you as Gretchen be-
fore she made love dial of the daisies What
is the storyi Oh, | have told you stories
enough Gretchcn's you would not under.
stand just yet"
"But what did the daisies say TO herr
''My dear, tho daisies always say the same
thing, because daisies always tell tho truth
and know men. Tho daisies always say "a
little; it Is the girls ear that tricks her and
hood of which the daisy is not guilty"
"But who says it If the daisy do notg"
"Ah, the devil, perbaps-who knowsl He
has so much to do in these things"
But Bebee did not smile; she had a look Of
horror in her blue eyes; she belonged to a
peasaptry who believed In exercising the
iend by the aid Of tho cross, and who not SO
very many generations before had driven
him out of human bodies by rack and flame
She looked with little wistful, fear on tho
white, golden eyed marguerites that lay on
her lap.
"Do you think the fiend In thesei" she
whispered, with awe in her voice.
Flamen smiled. "When you count them
he will be there, no doubt"
Bebee threw them with shudder on the
grass.
slave spoiled your holiday, dearr no
: said, with n certain self reproach
She was silent minute, then she gathered
up the daisies again, and stroked them and
put them to her lips.
ut is not that they do wrong. You say
the girls ears deceive them. II Is the girls
who want a lie and will not believe the truth
because it BUNDLES them; 1t Is tho girls that
are TO blame, not the daisies As for me,
will not ask the daisies anything ever, so tho
flend will not enter into them"
"Nor into you. Poor little Bebee."
"Why, you pity me for thatr
scrpents face, neither do they ever scent the
smell Of the paradise roses; and it will be hard
for you 10 die without single rose d'amour
in your pretty breast, poor little Bebee."
81 do not understand, But you frlghten
mo little"
He rose and left his easel and threw him
self at her feet on the grass; ho took the little
wooden shoes in his hands as revercntly as he
would have taken tho broidered shoes Of a
duchess, he looked up at her with tender,
smiling eyes