Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-01-20

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tuition was so small it must be care.
fully guarded; but none the less he
must get the flowers. He would jour
ney to the country tomorrow and see
If he could not get job and receive
payment for it in primroses. ANY
how" he thought to himself, as he at
last fell asleep. 1T won't be for want
Of trying if tomorrow night she hasn't
got her primroses."
So in the early morning light he
whispered to his wife that he was 60
ing after job. and started. He walk
ed for a long way before he left the
densely packed buildings behind, but
by degrees the roads grew wider and
the houses farther apart. Then they
began to have little gardens in front
of them, and here and there were
spaces as yet untouched by the hand
Of the builder. In some of the little
gardens he saw primroses, but not
very many, and with his mind full
of the yellow carpet of them in his
own village, he scorned them. AS he
went on the surroundings became
more and more countrified. Trees, ra-
diant in their new spring attire Of
bright green, were on either side, and
the houses stood quite long way
back from the road.
Suddenly he came to a stop; surely
here was what he sought; here was
the end of his journey. The white
house before which he stood had
Primrose Cottage" painted on its
gate. and the name was deserved.
Primroses bordered the path up to
The door, primroses filled the boxes in
front of each low, wide window, clus-
tiers of primroses filled the beds on
either side of the well-kept lawn, and
their golden heads showed themselves
here and there among the grass
The old man opened the gate and
entered. He was just going to ring
the bell when lady came out of a
summer house in a corner of the
garden.
DO you want anything?" she asked,
kindly.
John touched his hat. "If you
please" he said, humbly, would you
let me do some work for you? l c,G
black boots or clean knives, or weel.
or anything you like. don't want
money, if you will only let me have a
bunch of those" He pointed to the
primroses.
The lady stared at him in surprise.
81 don't quite understand" she
said.
John opened his mouth to explain,
but no words came A horrible feel.
ing Of faintness overpowered him. He
forgot what he wanted; he only re,
membered that he had left home early
without any breakfast, and that he had
been walking for hours along a hard
and dusty road. He tottered and
would have fallen had not the lady
supported him.
When he knew what was happen
ing again he was sitting in an arm.
chair, and by his side was a dish of
soup.
You were faint" said the lady,
kindly; you must take this soup be.
fore you tell me anything more"
The warm, strong soup soon revived
him, and then Mrs. Munroe.y-called
her husband. and togethe they lis
tened to his story.
Long before he haf d 2liiSF la,sa tears
were raining down her face Tor.
helped by her gentls questioning, ! j
told her everything.
"of course you sha all have nr,,
roses. as many as yoku. like,.to -
20 your wife, she said, q brok
when he had done. "And .,ou
have other things, too-food alsa
drink, and money. How odd that you
shhould come here to-day'-she smiled
through her tears as she turned to
ward her husband-'this is our wed
ding day, too. only ours was five years
ago, instead of fifty. And now you
must have a rest and some dinner
while ! get basket Of good things
ready for your wife"
work in return for all these benefits
but Mrs. Munroe only laughed at his
suggestion and left him. He was more
tired than he knew, and the armchair
was very comfortable, so he slept for
some time, and then had dinner such
as he had not even seen for years
And afterward Mr.. Munroe came and
talked to him, and said he was in need
of caretaker for his office, and ii
John could give satisfactory refer
ence he would engage him. John gave
the name of his old employer in the
country, and Mr.. Munroe said he would
write to him that very day.
Then Mrs. Munroe appeared with a
basket. &c.," she said, II have put
necessaries-bread and meat, and tea
and butter and sugar, but want you
please to give this bottle of port wine
and cake to your wife especially from
me. want you both TO drink our
health at supper tonight when you
drink to each other, and my husband
and will do the same for you"
And then she gave John, who was
almost too overwhelmed to speak, q
basket full of lovely primroses and
some roots in pot, and money to pay
his fare back to the city, and with
kindly handshakes and wishes, and
promises of help to come, she and hel
husband saw him off on his homeward
journey. His parcels were heavy, but
his heart was light, and he pictured
Susan's joyful surprise when hi
poured the primroses into her lap
The dreary city streets seemed bright
er as he passed along them now, be
cause of the hope that was within him
He almost ran up the creakine
stairs to his room, and turned the
handle gently. 1t resisted his pres
sure, and, surprised, he tried again
1t still resisted, and unreasoning feal
curled around his heart. Why had Su
san locked the door? She could MOI
be out, for since her heart had beer
so bad she had hardly been able te
walk about the room.
bo cfoo1 porr1ayod door nv