Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-01-10
accustomed places. and
from f ;

frie tooped or had been
hae was the way of
ths there are some
pc d to the ways
| of -taf a haply one of
the
g. han hough 1 should
rat .,,--,-..!ce, for he was
scag III. .a was the little
eros ~" POOR hoy Jim.
Thcn st, were bond between
them, peri, ; tiIey were both crippled,
though Sill, q, from infancy. He was
humpbackel she was lame, He was
swift of foot and of eye and could pilot
her dexterously over the muddy way,
safe from horses feet or splash of wheels;
she, the girl, was stronger of hand
brighter Of face and of courage. She
had more than once taken the besom
from Jim's hand and swept away the
mud for pedestrians blthely and cheerily,
so that she earned more coppers for him
in ten minutes than he knew how to
gain in weary mornings work His
hands were so weak and delicate; hers,
used to activity, were positively muscu-
lar by contrast.
There was one drawback-he never
seemed to comprehend about the flow
ers. He would stand on one leg by the
brilliant shop window staring piteousB
taking off his ragged cap and putting it
on again with a gesture of perplexiH,
scratching his head sometimes for greater
doubt,
"You see, Jim," Milly whispered to
him one day, 81 love them so-the flow
ers They are so beautiful, so very, ve.y
beautiful. 1t quite gives me pain, an
odd feeling here in my throat, onlyto
look at them"
"Then wouldn't have nothin' to 10
with en-" returned the boy decisively.
"If they hurt you what's the rarl;"
cts the hurting that br, ak
to them, somehow" star. .ly,
who couldn't explain.
Jim gazed at her With IN
ed, long lashed eyes.
you are a queer 'un. mis-
take" he said at last. 81 look o1t!
you were almost right under tile vln
this time, Mill l wish, | wish was a
dook that do-Tdgive you flowers and
grand things every day; wouldn't I
just"
"Thank you, Jim, dear; oh, thank
you. That makes it just the same as if
you did"
'Why, how can that be-" asked the
boy, leaning on his broom and staringat
her harder than ever.
"Of course it does. Don't you set:'
asked Milly, to whom definitions seemed
almost the greatest difficulties of life.
There are some people who have so lit
tie to say that they spend their days in
trying to make the scanty substance
more; meanwhile the thoughts of Others
surge tempestuously against their fetter-
ing speech, and these people must al.
ways appear ignorant and dull.
One day-it was a bright D.. .aorn-
ing-ATilly had come to an end Q, ali her
commissioned work. Nor had she any
ideas for thr lCure: she was tired, over
done perchance-she had been working
both early and late this las. eek. The
colors of the many petalcd {. ."evs in the
shop opposite seemed 'c n more
brightly than usual; the ,,... AS strong
and hot; the three corner,i pisco Of sky
overhead was positively blue. From its
cage on a nail outside neighbor's win
dow came the sweet song of a captive
thrush. Some effervescence of spring
time 1850 and bubbled in the girls young
veins. She could not stay within her
dark and squalid room; she rose to her
feet in impatience.
A moment later she had reached the
street She stood outside the door of the
house, gazing inquiringly from side %
side. No, Jim was not there; he WIS
nowhere in sight. Well, he would son
return, doubtless. There were few W.
hicles to be seen; she might cross safel-.
Now the deed was done; Jim shoul
presently hear of her prowess.
And surely the reward was worth tie
effort. The flower shop had never seem
ed so beautiful. Bunches of lilac, labu'-
mum and hawthorn were blooming On
one side: on the other side were pos
lively stacked pink, red and white pee
MES, pansies and the anemones and blue
bells of the woods, while marshmallows
and cowslips shone more golden thai
the sunshine.
Milly knew no names or properties d
flowers; in her eyes there were no con-
mon ones, and the hothouse geranium,
and cinerarias were only by color NOR,
glorious than the penny punches of wal
flowers and field daisies and stragglin,
forget-me-nots that were specially Pre-
vided for weary Londoners.
To her it was all beautiful dream;
there was just a hard. impossible wal
between her and such luxuries, like tn,
glass against which she flattened her
pale, little pinched features. She coull
see through the glass certainly, but sh,
could not go nearer; no, nor yet touch
Or smell She could only sigh, and tn,
sigh Complaint like made matters
worse, for it dimmed the clearness Of tn.
glass for a moment
Two ladies came out of the shop; on,
! passed on; the other, seeing the gir,
paused. The hands of both ladies wers
filed with lunches of flowers; possibl1
Milly's eyes were more hungrily watch
| iug than she knew
You poor little girl" said the lad
who stood ia the doorway. Sine held
out bunch OF something bright
/. NtNNnt,fI ,..., IN, tI,n-,