Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-09-01

Tie yellow Tomatoes
And How They Gave Shape te an
Engagement Ring.


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When Dominicus Van Brunt first
went to the public school in his adopt
ed country. he had the felicity of sit
ting opposite a little girl with freckles
and blue eyes. Her name was Bertha
Henderson, which was difficult name
for DominiCus to remember. But it
was not at all hard for him to remem-
bcr the dear little girl with freckles.
She wore tiny black tassels at the top
of her shoes and white aprons, ruflied
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 now the
color of the rose.
Domincus said to himself that in
Amsterdam he had never known any
little girl so freckled and so dear.
Il 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 Amcri-
can children are too egotstical 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 dcfcrential
manner to the teacher, a 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 no; laugh at him. SO DominI-
Gus. who did not know that she was
amused and who perceived only her as
pect of gravity, 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
cali the attention of his freckled heart 8
own to himself. and one day he hurried
into tie schoolroom the first minute
the doors We're 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 fash
Iona hlc suburb would have yellow to-
matocS. except the son of the Dutch
gardener? The school indIlgcd in un-
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
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 S
amiable face scarlet. and while the 9TH
er boys jeercd 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 n little
maid distinctly conscious Of her social
opportunities. 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 Il 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-
/ cd down her back, and had the rapture
of 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 Dominicns sang beautiful
songs to them IN language they could
not understand and fed them with
crullers and grape juice. Bertha
thought she had never seen any room
SO charming as this kitchen, with its
racks of blue plates, it's shining pans
and its illuminated notices upon the
wall.
Bertha was not more than IL when
she was sent to private school, and
as the years went by she saw people OF
quite a different sort from Dominicus
and his father and mother and ought
probably, to have forgotten all about
them. But il is an undeniable fact
though it may have shown some evi
dences of vulgarity in her nature. that
all the years that she was occupied
with other matters, such as boarding
school and summer resorts and "com
ing OUT and the g9ysties of winter
in the city. she remembered that curl
Gus kitchen and the people who lived
In 1t and wondered where they fat