Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-28
THE FLEETING SHOW.

A CHANGE OF HEART.
 "Nonsense!" said Miss Persis Deane, tes- tily, ''howers?-for Easterl-in a Presby- terian church!''
 'fBut Miss Persis, we have consulted Mr. May and he entirely approves of it. And he says that if we truly love the Lord Jesus Christ"-here the speaker faltered little, for might not this seeming attempt to instruct one so much older than herself be construed as presumption?-'if we be- heve that He died to redeem us; if His resurrection seems to us the most wonder full and precious of truths, it is fitting that we should make Easter day a joyous re- ligious festival and that we should 'beauti- fly the house of the Lord with flowers, for they are the living types of His resurrec- ton, and reminders of His promise, Be cause I live ye shall live also.'"
 ''We never have done it," said Miss Persis, with an air of disposing of the whole matter, 'and I don't see the use of beginning now" -...
 "Then you will not lend us few of your plants! We would be so careful of
 them"
 'tNo, couldn't" and then, softening a little as she saw the shadow of disappoint- ment cross the young girls face, 'I don't say it's wrong, but it seems very foolish and needless. And you know what my plants are to me-"
 "Yes, I know. Perhaps I ought not to have asked for them. But Miss Persis," and she looked up with a quick, bright smile, Eve are going to carry the cut flowers to the sick, and if one of your dreadful headaches should chance to keep you at home from church I shall appear to you on Monday morning with my hands f,1I of %har, ha that you refused me! Good bye."
 Good bye," said MISS Persis, smiling in spite of herself; 'I hope you'll have better luck elsewhere"
 ''I think shall," said Margaret Allyn to herself as she walked down the narrow, bo1-bordered path to the gate. ''Most people are more obliging than you, Miss Deane. But, oh mel If I were all alone in the world, if there was no one to love me, ,and nothing to love and to care for but my flowers, would I be willing to lend them, even for Easter? I'm afraid not. Poor Miss Persis! I wish could make her love me. I'm sure I've tried"
 Miss Persis was lowering about her be- loved flowers. Two windows of the filled filled with with them. A wreath of bloom, verdure, and perfume told of the loving care that had been lavished upon them. Vases and baskets were filled with dropping vines, and twigs of apple and forsythia were blossoming in jars of water. "Such nonsense!" ejaculated Miss Persis as she wiped an imaginary atom of dust from a lustrous calla leaf. "My plants! Chilled through with the cold air! dropping for want of water!-brought home with the flowers all faded, and the leaves all broken off! -ruined!" At this doleful picture her indignation rose and the hands that caressed | her treasures began to tremble. "Foolish- ness We never thought of such a thing when Parson Dryar was living, but this l new man, with his new ideas, is turning | all the young peoples heads. And now | there's some one else knocking. I do hope | it isn't another girl on the same errand. | Well, what is it, childa Do want little girl! Mercy on us, nc, I don't. To help mel To help hinder me, I suppose. No, run away, child, don't want you," and again
 the door was closed upon disappointed
 applicant, and again Miss Persis
 sought to tranquilize her perturbed spirit by contact with her flowers. She was a slight woman with delicate
 features, her hair smoothly coiled at the
 back of her head, her dress neat and trim
 lovely woman, though too proud to con | fess it even to herself; woman who had
 nursed a grievance for years, who meant | to be hard and unloving, yet who was not,
 as Margaret Allyn would have said, half
 so disagreeable as she tried to be. In
 long hours of loneliness she had fallen into
 habit of thinking aloud and she now
 continued, in disjointed sentences; q
 wish Margaret had stayed away.
 I know one thing.-I'll go to church
 on Sunday if Pm able to be upl She
 shan't come here with her hot-house flow,
 CTS to triumph over me. Goals of fire,
 she'd call it, and shan't have a chance
 to heap lem this time!'' Here she
 wavered little as tide of compunctior
 swept over her. Had not that graceful
 begonia grown from 8 slip Margaret had
 brought her, that tropical fern with its
 lace-like frouds, and the delicately striped
 carnation, were they not Margaret's gift
 "She said if we really loved him if we believed. But I don'
 like these new notions-and to hay,
 my plants spoiled after all my care! I won
 der whose child that was, not one of tn,
 village children I'm sure. She was pal,
 for such a chilly day. I shouldn't thinl
 any mother would send such little gir
 out to look for work. Where could sh have come from? And I was so upset tha I sent her away. ought at least to hav let her come in and rest" She hastenet to the door and looked up and down tn road, but no one was in sight and sh , was turning away when her ey was caught by little patch o blue among the gnarled roots of the grea
 elm tree that stood near the gate. "I cold" exclaimed Miss Deane, and wrap ping herself in shawl she hurried out There sat the child in forlorn little heap She wiped her eyes with her mite of handkerchief when the lady appeared, an . looked up appealingly as if dreading sec 8 ond repulse. 'T want you to come in an
 sit with me awhile," said Miss Deane kind , ly. A bright look came over the ittl white face. "And may see the flowers!
 she ask asked; not +of to1oh o01Pss 15s you %ay
 cold hand was slipped confdingly int Miss Persis' palm, '1 saw them from th ]. street and they looked solovely! I though
 perhaps somebody that loved everybod
 lived here and so I wasn't afraid to com 6 and ask you if you didn't want me-" "An D drove you away, poor little soul thought Miss Persis, penitently, as she le , in the stranger guest. "Now sit in tn l. big easy chair and when you have ha l. some bread and milk you shall tell n is your name and why you wanted to Ii, Wltn me. Ou! siSnco tue cnllo, her weary little frame sank ini y the comfortable depths of the chint e covered chair and her eyes sought u Ia flowers with an admiring look in them tn, went straight to Miss Persis' heart, 'it u 50 bright, and warm, and sweet here, it g beautiful to mel And I'm sorry thougl l. you were cross." Miss Persis' eyes gre e misty. She hurried into the pantry ar ;s began to heap @ tray with every thing sl ls could find that was wholesome or temp ], ing. "Poor little soul," she said agsi W s'cold, and tired, and hungry, and dro' IT you awayl Somebody that loved ever . body'-O what a mean, selfish creature 'e aml But it's half Margaret's fault" sa Id the poor woman, putting up weak ba