Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-06

Florida awoke, to see her mother stand
Ing beside her with a little breakfast
tray. cit ism Z as cold as 1 thought it
was going to be, - said Florida.
''Oh. it isn't cold at all, - said her
mother. cit is day of days. 1t has
been so mild season that they are call
ing 1t Indian summer, here on the edge
of winter! Oh, we shall learn strange
things up here! Eat your breakfast, and
will show you something And OF
course she asked to see whatever it was
first; but the breakfast did smell good;
aud so she made short work OF that, and
then she skipped out OF bed and thrust
her feet into the little wool slippers,
saying: ''NOw, show 1t to me!''
And her mother took her
TO the window and drew aside
the white dimity curtains, and what
picture il was that burst on Florida 8
eyes! The sky was as blue as she had
ever seen it over her own Southern sea,
and the sun poured down flood of glory
on the low hills that arose around them,
here blue with distance and there vivid
with scarlet and gold, with bronze and
purple or oak and ash and elm, and the
broad beams lay In lane OF light, be-
tween the NAPLES of the avenue, every
separate leaf of which was like little
ruby flame of fire. ooh, mammal
cried Florida. cit is Aladdin IS garden
that you told me of! Am 1 dreaming?
Is it painted? Is it real? Is this the
NORTH"
eyes, It is painted :" said the mother.
f'But the sun painted it. This is the
very window dear papa looked out OF
every morning when he was boy
al have seen red trees before, - said
Florida; 'but I never saw a whole world
of them, you know!'
And then little cousin Serena, as fair as
Florida was dark, as still as Florida was
restless, was brought into the room; and
there were few moments of staring, OF
armed neutrality, as it were, and then
brief word or two; and, directly, the
arms were around each others necks and
the tongues were running as if they went
by machinery. ''I didn Z suppose the
was little girl here, - Florida was say
ing.
Florida had an idea that day that she
really might be in fairyland. She had
expected everything to be so different
that it was all glad surprise. She kept
rushing in with her arms full OF gay
leaves; she felt as if the kind old aunts
were fairy gcd-mothers; she was happy
to see something almost like a smile on.
her dear mother S sweet face while look
ing at her. conf she cried, running
and putting her head on her mothers
shoulder, all her excess OF pleasure sud
denly turning into tears, eff papa were
only here now to see it all!' And then
the little mother began to cry, and
Florida almost forgot fairylsnd in trying
to bring the smile back.
She went out again presently with
Serena and one of the aunts, who were
planting some snowdrop bulbs under the
piazza IS edge, dancing about herself IN
the rain of leaves that a high wind was
scattering everywhere, taking mean
while great interest in the affair of the
planting, and saying she supposed the
bulbs would send up all scarlet and gold
blossoms. "Oh, no." said the gentle
Aunt Priscilla; ''they VIII come up
white and pale green. Not so much
flower as the promise OF flower. just
the spirit of a flower -
''The spirit of a fiowerl' cried Flor
ida, nightly taken with the idea ''Oh!
l don t know how l can wait TO see it!''
She went to bed at last with the coverlet
strswn with her red autumn sprays, tired
out with pleasure, and her mother went
Continued on Sixteenth Page.