Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-05-23
I coPYRIeAT Iee2 b RAM. NsMALLY 3 co.

The garden was neglected spot
where the tangled growth of shrub
and flower had acquired certain pic
turesque charm of untrammeled
bloom and fragrance. Jacob
Dealtry was his own gardener
as we'll as housekeeper; and
while he watered the trees and plants
likely to perish of drouth, he would
suffer no pruning nor wedding on his
premises
Let the flowers have their own
way" he would reason querulously,
as he pottered about with copper
vessel of water to refresh parched
roots.
Dolores had strict injunctions to at
tempt no amateur cultivation, in
youthful zeal. She might pluck the
flowers to place in her hair, and COR
sage, or gather such rare fruit as de-
crepit orange, citron, fig, or nespoli
yielded to white little teeth, but the
stem must be respected. Not that
Dolores cared a straw for the prohi-
bition. Incidence made her prefer to
dream in the Pickering shadow of the
leaves, swayed by the warm wind,
rather than to hurt her soft fingers
pulling up rank weeds Order and
symmetry had few attractions for the
girl, whose sunny and buoyant nature
had escaped from all endeavors to in
culcate chill and formal discipline on
the part of the pale sisters of the con-
vent school; as the vines climbed in
hayward luxuriance over the wall,
spurning the support of nail and lat
tee, to gain the sweetness and light
of upper air.
In the memory of Dolores the gar
den had always been there, tangled
and neglected, just as the house re-
NAMED unchanged The watch-tow-
ers, built under the rule of Martin de
Redin to guard the coast from the
sudden invasion of the Turks and
now serving as signal and telegraphic
stations, did not resemble the beacon
tenanted by the Dealtries, with its un-
finished turret and dilapidated mason
ry. Wind, sun and storm had swept
over and ravagcd both trees and habi-
tation
Life had been q kaleidoscope to
Dolores, composed Of bits of gay color,
puzzling patterns and vanishing
shapes. Grandfather made few expla-
nations of any sort to her lively child
ish intelligence, and tolerated her
presence beneath his roof at the best.
An old neighbor came at stated inter
walls to sweep and garnish the narrow
interior of the tower and spread the
household linen to dry in the sun, but
Dolores was not expected to assist
her in any way. Jacob Dealtry's pro-
hibition of all manifestations of femi-
nine industry on the part of his grand
child seemed to arise from distrust
of her capacity.
''Do not touch anything" he would
say; you will only break and drop
my glass"
II have never broken glass, grand
papa" protested Dolores, with tears
of vexation rising to her dark eyes.
Then Jacob Dealtry shook his head.
Before floating bits of straw on the
basin of the fountains tiny squad
ron speedily wrecked by gold fish
the girls recollections were vague,
consisting of perpetual comings and
goings, in a fruitless fashion; of
glimpses of foreign towns, and of
long, wearisome voyages on board Of
dirty ships.
There had been young man, APP
parently her father, who had caressed
her and often carried her about on his
shoulder. She remembered a pretty
mother, with black lace mantilla
over her head, and the fan, which she
still treasured in painted box. A
nurse named Pepita with dark and
smiling face, who wore big gold ear
rings that swung in the sunshine to
attract baby fingers, was fainter
image. The mother had dwelt here at
Malta for some years, and in dying
had commended her child to the care
of the nuns, who had impaired such
instruction as she had ever received.
The father and the nurse, Pepita, had
vanished altogether and never re-
turned
Jacob Dealtry had tolerated the
presence of the mother and child with
an unsympathetic resignation. Left
alone, as an orphan, Dolores was made
to understand that the bread of pow
erty would be her portion. Poverty
did not dismay her. She was not OPP
pressed by'loneliness, because she was
unused to companionship. She had all
the lightheartedness Of the Andalu-
sian, amounting to sheer giddiness at
times, and heart full of enthusiasm,
as yet untainted by latent possibilities
of cruelty and revenge. She loved the
gnarled trees of the garden and the
pigeons She wove her own fancies
about the sea, visible in the distance,
and whispered babbling secrets to the
flowers, until her grandfather gave
her the little dog Florio, obtained by
him in exchange for a mural tablet
and cinerary urn.
'"You must allow the dog to sleep
in the hall, child" said the old man.
''These small dogs awaken and bark
at the slightest noise. florio will
guard the house"