The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16

flowers The res Il his farm might be LEFT
TO the care OF subordinates, but his dahiias
never! And IL was with small regard Tor
making the thing pay, as he assured US.
and We we're stricken with instant convfc-
ton. He would undoubtedly have taken
az much pleasure I'm his dahlias even Il
they did not yield him a cent. but they
rewarded his single-hearted devotion by WIN
ming him prizes at all the shows, and peo-
pie came from far and near TO buy cut
tlngs OF his plants.s Every Sunday was a
show Sunday with him. 1t was a regular
Sunday play for the people of the district
10 visit his farm. so Jonas needed not
even the excuse of similar tastes with the
old farmer for bringing thither the young
lady he was waiting upon" He was gen.
erous of his flowers to the visitor. All we
had to do was copiously TO admire, and be-
hold we were laden down with more stiff
and gorgeous beauties than We could con-
veniently carry.
NAMED HIS FLOWERS.
7 wish I could remember some of the
quaint names of his floral pets. The only
one that sticks in my mind is Miss
Ruth" and that for two reasons. Jonas
grew this particular kind also in his
more modest garden, and had presented 1T
to US one day in graceful return for our
expressed admiration. 1t, or she, was of
a dainty pale pink, with precise little
Quakerish quills. But, as Farmer Frost
RAA U.s. @tAA0o LtANA 49,
not always restrict herself to her dainty
pale pink. but allowed. herself vagaries
sometimes in the way or flashes or color.
The other reason why l remember the
name of this special dahlia is that Miss
Ruth seemed TO me the floral symbol oil
another Miss Wilkins character whom we
met-one OF those dainty spinsterS Miss
Wilkins describes so lovingly, who seem
as If they must be laid away in lavendar
at the times when they are not III public
view. But this Miss Ruth" was SO young
- ---~f - I1r-o ror na1 tho ftffn nf
spinster. except that it became her so
well. She was always simply, freshly
and Immediately attired C"attired" is the
word to use), with something quakerishly
cOquettish about her garb, whether 1T
were the rosebuds sprigged over her
muslin gown. or the white kid shoes she
wore in the daytime, or some other
quantity appropriate touch that gave this
effect. Her house. coy with old-fashioned
furniture, was equally Immaculate and
tasteful. Her little maid. who opened the
little tea-table in the parlor was Always
laid out. ready TO refresh the chance
visitor, with quaint old china and a choice
of two kinds of tea, and even chocolate,
which seemed TO surround her as with an
aroma of the eighteenth century.
There was a spinster OF another gene
Keziah. looking as prim and starched and
old fashioned as her name, who was
famed IN all the country round for the
elegance of her diction. There are many
I'LL "a - $3.50
from mouth to mouth, but they have be-
come still more cmblemfshed in the telling
till now il is difficult to disentangle the
truth from the fiction. From her windows
you could see a fine VISTA never merely
a view" The rain ''percolated through
the radicles' of her hedge, and when a
dog once so far forgot himself as to yelp
at her maiden ankles, she was heard ex-
claiming. "DeSist, cur, deSiSti
l enjoyed all these people hugely. There
seemed a keenly individual flavor about
them all, illustrating, perhaps, the dictum
of a recent writer, who refutes the charge
of monotony so often leveled against,
democracies, by pointing out that though
there may be a certain samness in Amerf-
can society viewed from outside, result
ing from the absence of the class distinc-
tions that make so much of the pictu-
resqueness of old world societies, there is
actually less monotony within, for the in
dividuality of the separate members that
make up democratic society is more strong
~ developed.
But perhaps / should not have been
able to enjoy them so much if it had not
been for Miss Mary Z. wilkins, who dis
charges the function of the artist by max
ing us see things that are really there,
but which we might not have discovered
for ourselves. Anyhow, ii was a pleasant
summer / spent in Observation-Disclosures:
and the characteristic favors of the inter-
esting folk / met there still lie in my
memory, fragrant as dried rose leaves-and
may the sweet perfume last longi