Morris tribune., 1900-07-28
TIE yellow Tomatoes
And How They Gave Shape to an
Engagement Ring.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

When Dominicus Van Brunt frs
went to the public school in his adopt
ed country, he had the felicity Of sit
ting opposite little girl with freckles
and blue eyes. Her name was Bertha
Henderson, which was difficult name
for Dominicus to remember. But il
was not at all hard for him to remem
Der the dear little girl with freckles
She wore tiny black tassels at the tor
of her shoes and white aprons, rufled
! and tied upon the shoulders with large
airy looking bows, and the ends of her
smooth braids were tied with ribbons
now the color of the violet and nowthe
color of the rose.
| Dominicus said to himself that in
Amsterdam he had never known any
little girl so freckled and so dear.
II wish she would look at me,''
| thought little Dominicus Van Brunt.
But he thought it in Dutch, although
when he spoke aloud he managed to
make himself understood in English.
1t must be confessed that little Ameri-
can children are ttoo egotistical to be
polite. Thinking as they do that they
are nodded on the right pattern, they
are inclined to regard all children diff
fering from them as. curiosities. They
considered the round faced Dutch boy
with his shy ways and deferential
manner to the teacher, strange little
fish indeed. And no one in all the
school was more amused than the dain-
ty Bertha, who looked at him covertly
out Of her gray blue eyes. However,
she did not hugh at him. So Domini-
Gus, who did not know that she was
amused and who perceived only her as
pect Of era ~ity, thought her kinder
than the rest and was grateful. If only
she would have spoken to him or look
ed at him as If she were his friend, he
would have had nothing more to ask
He could even have been patient with
that terrible English language which
every one around him was jabbering.
He determined to do something to
call the attention Of his freckled hearts
own to himself, and one day he hurried
into the schOolroom the first minute
the doors were opened and laid three
pear shaped yellow tomatoes on her
desk. The scholars came, saw the
pretty vegetables, and had little trou-
BILE in deciding from what source the
tribute came. For who else in a fash
ionable suburb would have yellow to-
matoes except the son of the Dutch
gardener? The school INDUCED in IN
restrained giggling, but Bertha, in
stead of participating, shot defiance
from her gray blue eyes, and, turning
with an adorable smile toward Domin-
icus, carefully fitted one Of the yellow
tomatoes into her red mouth and de-
voured it in the same spirit in which
a loyal subject drinks to his king. 1t
was evident that Dominicus had been
right. Bertha was different from the |
others. His happiness stained the boys |
amiable face scarlet, and while the 9th |
er boys jeered at him, number Of |
them felt distinct pang Of jealousy. |
They were quite alive to the extraor- |
binary favor which had been shown |
him.
From that day on Bertha, the daugh-
ter of prosperous lawyer and little |
maid distinctly conscious Of her social
and Dominicus, the son
Of the man who raised garden truck,
were friends. There came day when
Bertha, having reached the proud age
Of 10, gave birthday party on her
fathers lawn, and insisted on having |
Dominicus among her guests-a IA
nous day for Dominicus, in which he
saw his princess in all the glory of her
best white frock, with her hair crimp-
ed down her back, and had the rapture
IF eating cream tarts in her company!
But there was yet prouder day in
which Dominicus was permitted to re-
turn this social attention and was al
lowed to invite Bertha and three other
friends to the snowy kitchen of his
home back Of the garden, where the
mother Of Dominicus sang beautiful
songs to them in a language they could
lot understand and fed them with
,rullers and grape juice. Bertha
.AOuSuL SuC udu uCNSI SccA duy IOOAh |
30 charming as this kitchen, with it's
'acks of blre plates, it's shining pans
and it's Illuminated notices upon the
wall.
Bertha was not more than II when
The was sent to private school, and
Is the years went by she saw people of
quite different sort from Dominicus
Ind his father and mother and ought,
to have forgotten all about
hem. But it is an undeniable fact.
hough it may have shown some EVIL
lences of vulgarity in her nature, that
III the years that she was occupied
With other matters, such as boarding
chool and summer resorts and "com-
ng OUT and the gayeties of a winter
n the city, she remembered that curl
'us kitchen and the 10 lived
it and wondered d ley had