Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-08-16
WHITE NIOLETS.

the old dreaming willow on the rectory
lawn. The eldest son had come home, a
wapderer, after three long years, and the
sunshine seemed moro brilliant and the
opening flowers all the sweeter for that
kindly face, that happy presence in the
home world once more.
Christabel, his Youngest and fairest sister.
"We will 90 and gather the white ones for
Won. You were always so fond of them,
dear
For a moment the mans face grew very
tender and dreamy as he thought of the
one who had loved the scented blossoms
eyon more dearly than himself, the one to
whom before he went away he had ven
tured only to breathe a hint of his great
secret, the one of whom he was longing
to ask tidings. Then he submitted to be
led away from the adoring group under
the slowly budding willow, with the sweet
faced sisters arm twining tenderly round
his own, down the messy garden ways to.
ward the little wood.
But the man, listening to the merry
chatter of his best loved sister, only wait
ed to ask the question that yearned to
come and vet was so long delayed. He was
nervous on the subject, among all his
hopes and plans, Thew had said nothing
to him of her, and surely they might have
guessed-at any rate Christabel-and lat
terIy, even in their letters, they had never
mentioned her name, though at first IT,
dings had come occasionally of the doings
that they had had together, for they were
very true friends, his true love and his
,anpJo of bp,,,,
And he had ever fancied sometimes that
she might have been there among his
pretty sisters and their still sweet and
graceful mother, ready to welcome the
sturdy son who had brought fame and
fortune from lands over the blue, blue sea
to lay at her feet.
So he had given one quick glance as he
neared the quaint wicket, with the proud
old father by his side, round the fair gar
den, with it's golden sheaves of datfodils and
it's pearly posies of narcissuses, "all colne
out as il i'll time to welcome you home"
as Christabel said to him in her happy
voice, watching him the while with eyes
full of love and contentment. But the
beautifulface that he had longed SO deeply
to see was absent, though the greetings
rang truo even without that one sweet
voice. And of her they whispered nc word
at all.
Now he stood watching the girl as she
gathered a posy of the fragrant white vio-
let's, k~neeling on the green moss at his
feet, with tho sunlight striking through
the lacing boughs on her pretty hair and
rose leaf face. And suddenly as no watched
her the question came:
"Christabel," he said quickly, "what
of her-of Violet, l mean? You have said
nothing about her yet to me-"
The flowers dropped from the little
hands that had held them so tenderly, and
the girls eyes took q very pitiful express
sion as she strove to speak unconcernedly.
"Oh, sho is VOL, very we'll, and happy,
dear, she answered gently. "She lives
farther off now, and we don't see quite SO
much of her as we used to do. l thought
the others would tell you about her."
"What about herr" the man questioned,
feeling the vague doubts at his heart in
t~ensitled doubly by her anxious face.
"Why, where they have removed to and
all about it," the girl answered again,
gathering up her flowers and rising to her
Iee5' Come IL must DC nearly teatlme,
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