The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-03
The Rag Carpets story.
BY MRS. GEN. GEO. E. PICKETT

the first day the new carpet lay on the
! floor that, q shadow suddenly darkened
| the door, she looked up and saw AL
| phonzze. He had come to complete some
unfinished effects. he said. He was look
! ing straight at Florine when he said this
| Florine did not see him. She was look
ing down at the carpet.
Humph!' grunted the grandmother
| shortly. She wondered if he intended
| to produce an effect of Florfne jumping
| over the steeple or of the moody COW
| climbing the mulberry tree. She had not
| much faith in artistic effects, finished
| or unfinished
Alphonzze, looking adnniringly at the
pink profile of Florine, observed her
| downward gaze, and followed it with his
| eyes.
Something On the floor suddenly arrest
! ed his attention. His practiced eye
| could not be regardless of it's lifetime
| calling even in her presence
| F'lorine, feeling herself released from
| that absorbing gaze. looked curiously at
| Alphonzze. He was studying the car
| pei where ripple of gold with wave
| of silver wound shimmeringly through
| and through the dark web. It's bright
| ness was dimmed in one place by a
| phonzze seemed to rest longest. Then
he put his hand involuntarily to his
| breast pocket as if he might have there
| something that would match that glim-
! mer of gold.
| 81 like rag carpet he said, lean
| ing in graceful pose against the man
tel. ut suggests SO many artistic things
| AID romantic stories with its varied col
| ors and many fabrics. There is some
| thing warm and glowing in that crimson
! square just by your feet, and that soft
| pale blue is like a patch fallen from a
| May sky. That strip OF green is like the
| meadow where I first saw you. Do you
| rem ember?'
A wave of color swept warmly over her
| face. Did she remember the soft green
| slope with the white clover shining
| through?
81 remember she said. The low mu-
| sic of her voice brought to his memory
| the cooling OF the dove he had heard on
| that May morning when the meadow was
| green and love slept in dreams.
| Then that bit of gold-what is that?
Did someone have a gown of that stuff
| embossed with silver?'
grandmother does not know how that
happened to be among her antiques and
rag-bag that she had not been in since
the poor countess was murdered. Only
that day she had gone into it to get
some. old-fashioned things for the fancy
ball Granny, tell him about the coun-
tess
Grandmother lifted her head proudly,
dignified with the one tragedy which
had touched upon her otherwise eventful
| life. He should see that she was not the
woman to use a broom improperly-she
who had known awful mysteries.
1T was one morning early as | was
fixing up Martins room, for we were
expecting him home that week, when
Hepzy Myers came running in and told
me that the countess at the judges had
been foully murdered. That's just what
she said for all the world like a New
York paper. Killed for her jewels and
they had all been carried off and she had
been found 'weltering in her blood, just
like novel book woman"
sAnd your son-did he Gomez"
'.He came the next day, but he didn't
stay long. The murder of the poor coun-
tess though he never saw her, seemed