Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-08-21
THE W0MAN'S ROSE.


I'D Is broken and tel with n string. In
II keep liitio squares Of paper. with
hair inside. and little which hung over
my brothers bed when we were chill
drcn. and other things ~ small have
IN Il q rose. Other women also have such
boxes where they keep such trihel, but
no ono has my rose.
When my eye 10 dim, and my heart
grows faint, aud my faith In woman
fickcrs, aud her present IL an agony to
me. and her futuw adespair, tho sccnt
Of that dead rose. withcred for twelve
years, comes back 10 me- know there
will be- spring, M surely as tho birds
know u when they SEQ above tho snow
two tiny. quivoring green leaves Spring
cannot fail rs.
There wcro othor flowers In tho Dor
once; bunch Of white acacia flowers,
gathered by the strong hand Of man.
rs we passed down village street on n
aultry afternoon. when II had rained.
and the drops fell On " from the leaves
Of tho acacia trceA The flowers wero
damp; thoy made mildew marks on tho
paper ! folded them In. After many
years throw them away. There Is
nothing Of them lSt In tho box now but
faint smell OF drSd acacia, that recalls
that sultry summer afternoon; but tho
rose IA In tho Dor still.
II 10 many years ago now; was girl
Of fifteen. and went TO visit In n small.
mp country town. IL was young In those
days. and two dayS journey from tho
nearest village; tho population eonsistod
mainly OF mon. A few were married
and had their wives aud children, but
most were single There was only ono
young girl thero when came. She was
about seventeen, fair and rathor fully
neahed; she had large. dreamy blue eyes
and wayy light hair full. rather hcayy
lips. until abe smiled, and then her face
broke into dtnples and all her white
teeth shone.
The hotel keeper may have had n
daughter. and tho farmer In tho out
tkirts had two, but wo mover saw thom.
She rcignod alone. All the men wor-
shipped her. She was the only woman
they had TO think Of. They talked %
her on the "stoop,- al the market, u,
the hotel; they watched for her at street
corners; thoy hated the man she bowed
10 or walked with down they street.
They brought flowers TO the front door;
they offered her their horses, they begged
her 10 marry them when they dared.
Partly there was something noble and
heroic IN this devotion OF mon TO tho
best woman they knew; partly there
was something natural In II. that these
men. shut OF from the world, should
pour at tho feet Of ono woman tho wor-
ship that otherwise would have been
given to twenty; and partly there was
something mean In their envy Of one
another. II she had raised her lttlo I'm
ger, ! suppose, she might have married
any one out Of twenty Of them.
Then | came, | do not think was
prettier. do not thinl, was 80 pretty
us shc was was certainly not 30 hand.
some. But ! was vital. and was new,
and she was old. They all forsook her
and followed me- They worshipod mo.
TWAS TO my door that tho flowers came;
It was ] had twenty hores offered me
when | could only rido one; II was for
mo they waited at street corners; 1t was
what said aud did that they talked o.
Partly | liked It, had lived alone all
my life; no one ever told me that |
was beautiful and woman. believed
them; did MT know II was simply q
fashion which one man had set and the
rest followed unreasoningly. | liked
them TO ask me to marry them, and TO
say no, ] dospisod them. The mother
heart had not swelled in me yot. did
not know all men were my children, as
tho large woman knows when her heart
Is grown. was too small to DO tender.
liked my power | was like child
with u new whip. which It goes about
cracking everywhere, not caring against
what could not wind It up aud put 1t
away. Men were curious creatures who
liked me, | could never tell why.
Only one thing took from my pleasure;
could not bear that they had deserted
her Tor me. liked her great, dreamy
blue eyes, l liked her slow walk and
drawl. When | saw her sitting among
men she seemed to me much too good 10
b. among them. would have given all
their compliments II she would once
have smiled at me rs sho smiled AT them.
with all her face breaking into radiance.
with her dimples and flashing teeth. But
knew 1t never could DO; felt sure she
hated mel that she wished ! was dead,
that she wished had never come TO the
village She did not know. when We