The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-04-03
THE FLoRlsT's GIRL KNEW.
From tho Flowers tho Man BOUGHT she
Had Eiuured Out His Story.

Chicago Trihune: The girl behind the
floristsa counter atniledss md sighed gym
pathetieally as she tucked the card hand.
ed her by her last customer In amonE the
fragrant. sweet s1nelling blossoms filling
the huge hoN,
II hope they'll be happy" she said.
Nv stood behind this counter Tor
eleven years. she explained to tho fell
low worker. who lndulged In a question:
ing grinace, and I've learned to recog-
niae proposal symptoms at sight. That
man. for instance. began sending flowers
to the girl who Is to receive these gorge
Gus beauties more than three years ago.
He began with huge, costly American
beauty roses. One day the girl happened
to come into the store with him-I knew
she was his girl because he called her by
the name I always placed on the boxes
and because OF some remarks she made
about, fowers-and I saw at once that she
wasn't that kind OF a girl. I knew, tntu-
itively, she'd prefer vlolets or small,
odorous white blossoms. BY and by, too,
he found this out. His orders became less
lavish, but more frequent. Then I knew
that he'd settled down to steady adora-
ton. And I knew. too. that she wasn't
being too easily won.
by and by he stopped sending her flow
ers suddenly-never gave us an orderSfor
weeks and weeks. Then he began send
ing the hugesroses %again-but to another
girl. A little later the first girl came into
the store, by accident, seemingly, and
slipped into conversation with me She
was looking almost as thin n troubled
as the man who no longer sent her flow
ers, and I was willing to help them both
If 1 could. So When, after a long and
roundabout season Of chatter, she asked
me If the young man who had used to
send Miss S. flowers ever came into
the shop. I said nothing about the
address of the big red roses. But I ex-
plated upon the fact that he'd given us a
funeral order a week or two before and
that he didn't look well or happy. TIL.
girl looked happy as she went out again,
and-two weeks later they made up their
quarrel. I knew 1t, because he topped
sending the other girl red roses and be-
gan to order violets and white roses sent
to the old address.
Hes never missed many days since
his renewed happiness, and just now he
rushed in, his eyes all shining and q
abeatiflc smile on his face, ana ordered
flowers enough to decorate a dozen girls
sent up In a great hurry. So I know he's
proposed and been accepted and I only
hope that the wedding blossoms will come
from here"
The girl who had been guilty Of the
questioning grimace smiled grimly.
Why not carry the matter to a defnie
and Observation-Disclosures" she in
CURED. "a flower movement, repeat,
crescendo. climax, d~im1nuendo, retardan-
40, full stop-the latter when they've been
married a year or two. Can't you carry
your sign reading as far as that9 It's the
way the blossom march goes, according
to my way Of thinking"
Not always" returned the cheerful OPP
timist, stout1y. II had a customer until
lately who always ordered a bouquet of
mixed overs, Just the same kind Of flow
.rs, for a certain date every year. Some
Of these flowers are expensive and hard
to get IN the winter. but he never minded
paying for them. although he was by no
means a rich man. And he always or
dered them q week or so beforehand, SO
that no single blossom Of his list might be
missing. Ho told me once that he'd or
Tered just that kind of a bouquet annually
for forty years. I believe he would have
a trip across the continent, around
the world, for that matter, sooner than
miss that bouquet.
H didn't come to early as usual this
year, and + WONDERED. for W learned to
know the date. But just as I was getting
nervous about him, who should come in
ut a sad looking woman in widows
weeds who ordered the Identical bouquet
the missing MAJ had liked. I couldn't re-
frain from drawing her out a little. and
1 learned that the, man, her husband, had
Just died. She told me, moreover, shat the
dead maj had made up for her a dainty
bouquet Of blossoms, plucked In her fa-l
Tiers conservatory, the day she had con-
sented to marry him.. And every ami
versary Of that day he had marked with
a bouquet of just such blossoms. This
year, as he could no longer bring the dear
ly loved flowers to her, she had decided
to place them on his grave"
One Answer for All.