Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-02-08

| And how her old.young heart thrilled
at all the birds she loved and knew; the
sand-piper, the heron, the black bird,
the robin, the thrush, the pecwee, the
lark, the red-bird, the sons.sparrow, the
thistle-finch, the blue-bird and the wood
pecker with his CHEEKY, drowsy tattoo;
masters without an opus, orchestras
without pipes, singers without words,
but gathered here this radiant morning
| in this witching Wissahickon vale to
greet Bahia syria as she went her way;
and touching her dim old consciousness
with such raylshing numbers upon oboe
and flute, piccolo and pipe, Tyre and
Lutte, tuned in low and loving key, that
| the tender companionship she already
felt was told again in LIQUID cadences
blended in note of bird, in whispering
breeze, in voice of stream; all as never
came to mortal ears before
Like many one not Of gypsy blood
before her time and since, she could thus
have ever wandered on. But at last the
| highway was reached where the rumb-
ling Of the wagons rolling countryward
and cityward and the thunderings of
the FORCES along the Schuylkill, dis
PEELED the brief enchantmentin happy
gypsy surprise.
AS she climbed the little hillock from
the glen to the highway, the impera-
tive whining aud tail. wagging of Boze
drew. her eyes to q huddled group of
gypsies at the wayside copse. They
stood there sheepishly grinning and
reckoning to her, and she went TO them
wonderingly. Zeph, the chief, taking
her arm soothingly in his own, as the
women with Bob and Ephe crowded
about them and they all moved slowly
around the wooded turn of the road,
| first spoke.
Illus thought as you might like little
mukto.tan o. yer own, Baba;" he said
endearingly.
"Jes all by yourself wen We cooms
an goes" assuringly added one of the
women.
"spick an span, tidy an purty;"
heartily piped in another dame.
"1e gifts tn sun by day an moon by
night, right in yer tent door-I mean,
yer front winder; jess tn same as wi
hus on tn road, MOTHER" cheerlly
chirped another.
AN brave bit o. grass be + tn
yard, an siller poplar rustles an gills
(sings) agin tother winder;" Ephe
radiantly remembered.
But it remained for Bob alone to bell
low the heart challenge rightly.
"Ay, ay, mother DEAR" lie blurted
with something like tears in his kindly
eyes, "hits all jess for you an'-an'
Grisclda, wen ye finds the racklie lass ~
Until this moment Baba SYRIA had
seemed dazed and troubled by the low
ing demonstration, Bob had flashed
enough of its meaning to her in an in
slant. They were entering the little
roadside cottage now, tiny enough in
deed for this one lone life of little needs,
but fresh and clean and bright as gypsy
hands could make IL; with the dear old
kettle-stick of the camp set snugly beside
the fireplace, its hanging pot already
singing above CHEEKY blaze; hooded
tent, freshly spread with straw and
leaves, fixed open-mouthed before il; a
pile of wrought baskets tumbled
in corner; great rocking-chair be-
tween the kettle-stick and the tent; and
all about the brick floor of the quaint
little room scattered here and there were
objects of familiarity and affection al
least to gypsy life and eyes. But the ten.
derest conjuring of all was those words
of tinker Bob, for they held the blessed
promise clear to all these loving aids to
Bahia Sy'ra's quest,
"My Dearle Dubblesky! flor the deai
Lords sake!'') she exultantly quavered
ut last. Eyes, yes, yes. Jess for me and
Griselda, wen she comesw
Then she fell to kissing all the band,
and rocking herself to and fro in gentle
delirium of happiness; while these in.
corrigible heather of the road huttered
about her, much as men and women
OF the Christian race might do when
moved to laughter and tears.
A few days later frequeuters of one OF
Philadeiphia's ancient and picturesque
market-houses noticed an odd little old
woman with turbaned white head
crouching upon the outer pavement
among the sellers of flowers and herbs.
She nodded, smiled and crooned ia
all who spoke to her, and to all OF
kindly tone and face who paused to
examine or buy her dainty baskets for
spice and thread, her tiny cages or her
little punches of wild herbs, she would
quaveringly ask, "Have you seeu
Griselda tn morng" Or she would say
with nod of seeming confidence as
though all were quite well understood
between herself and tho purchaser,
"Teli Griselda Pm waitin' ere -
To the strapping, red-faced, huge.
framed, brawling market woman about
her she was at first subject for merry
iests. These not disturbing the piteous
cherry calm of the strange old face
they fell wondering and queryine
who she was and whence she came.
Her only answer was.
"I'm Bahia Syria, Griselda's mother
Griselda's lost, tn dearie Ay, ay, these
90 year; but she'll COON. l knows she'll
coom"
Then the hard harridans would shout
with laughter, and she would childishly
laugh with them; until the puzzled
market women would whisper together
and knowingly tap their frowsy heads.
Iii time they became, in their rough
way, very gentle to her: called her
Basket Baba," "Gipsy Greens" and
"Griselda's SYRIA" which name she
loved best, not in reproach OIL petulance,
but because they must have cant name
for all they knew, and with something
now of the meditation of womanly
friendliness in their tones; while, bless
the rough hearts within these brawny
frames they came to making snug
place for the lorn woman among them,
and when the dripping fogs tapped
ghostily from the Delaware, or the
storms pelted them under cover from
the street-edge, they often sat close
about her and sheltered her as best they
could.
In the meantime Boze, NANCY, gaunt
and grizzled Boze, Jared worse in his
earlier contact with city life. Nothing