The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-07-13
A spR1a OF LEMON vERBEEA.
ny CARRIE MAY ASHTON.

~~~-~~ @C~~E1 r~~~CE
he had fallen after the fever left him.
For hours he lay there dreaming Of
his childhood's home, and the old
fashioned garden SO dear to his
mothers heart. In his dreams he
saw it all once more, the neatly kept
place with its picket fence, the fra
grant pinks and heliotrope, great vel
vety pansies, bachelors buttons, dear
little double daisies, sweet peas, Law
endar, burgamot and last, but by no
means least the lemon verbena.
1t was years since his mother had
passed on.
The last time that he remembered
the peculiar fragrance of lemon yer
bena was the night of his broken en-
gagement, ten years before. Doris
had worn bunch of that flower at
her belt on that well remembered oc-
casion. He had given it to her from
his mothers garden. She looked
every inch queen that night in her
snowy gown with her fair wavy hair
piled high on her head. She had
been flirting outrageously with gay
young sport and her lover remonstra-
ted with her as kindly as he knew
how. From the days of their child
hood he had been her devoted friend
and champion, and later her lover.
In thought, word and act he had been
loyal to her. She was a creature of
many moods but always winsome and
lovable. He had had but one other
woman friend and confident and she
was his lifelong comrade and COM
panion, his mother. Life was never
quite the same after her death.
Doris could never stand interfer-
ence from anyone, and taking off her
engagement ring and the bunch of
lemon verbena she had laid them in
his hand and with some bitter and sar-
castle words had sailed out of the
arbor where they were resting, like
tragedy queen.
He had left home the next day and
from that time he had never gazed on
her face
The nurse came to give him some
nourishment and said he was better.
He was too weak to question her but
lay there doing and dreaming the
rest of the day. In the middle Of the
night he involuntarily called out,
Doris, Doris. AS the nurse ap-
preached his bedside he said in dis
appointed tone, ooh I thought it was
Doris" She endeavored to soothe him
as she would sick child but he ex-
claimed petulantly: Take it away,
I am tired and sick of it" pointing to
sprig of lemon verbena in tiny
glass on his medicine table. "Who
has been staying with me tonight"
he inquired impatiently.
"Only substitute to relieve me,
for I felt obliged to get some sleep
now that you have passed the crisis
and are SO comfortable" replied the
long suffering nurse whose tired eyes
and pale face testified to her need of
rest.
"Forgive me, I was brute to
speak so and you have been such an
angel to put up with my peevishness
so long. Go to bed and send in the
substitute and I'll try to be good,
Harold Pennock said in most peni-
tent tone as he turned his face toward
the wall.
A few days later the sick man said
to his nurse after she had brought him
his breakfast, "I want you to tell me
something. What did I say while I
was delirious / have an idea that
1 talked great deal of my early life.
I thought mother and an old friend
were with me-" Meeting her trou-
bled eyes and noting the flush on her
cheeks he repeated his question.
"Who did / keep asking for repeat
edly?''
''You must wait patiently a few
days longer and you shall know
everything. The doctor will hold me
responsible if there is a rising tenn
perature tonight"
"Only on one condition will | wait.
IF you will get some rest during the
day and stay with me at nights I'll
not say another word. Icannot sleep
nights and the other nurse makes me
nervous. Do you know how much
you remind me of the only woman I
ever loved? fit were not for your
hair and your tinsel6sh thought /
would almost think you were she. /"
In the long hours of the night the
sick man felt intuitively that some
one had soothed his aching brow and
dropped tear upon it. As he open
ed his eyes from a troubled nap he
caught glimpse of fitting shadow
in loose white gown leaving the room.
"Doris, Doris. come back to me, !" he
called excitedly.
ibid you want something, Mr..
Pennock?" inquired the substitute
a moment later.
Eyes, I want Miss Miller, at once.
Tell her that am worse or anything
which will bring her Immediately"
he said fretfully.
"What has happened" exclaimed
a white robed figure as she knelt at
his bedside breathlessly.
Doris, darling! Is it really and
truly you and does it mean that you
have come back to me, my own1"
as he drew her down to him.
s'I could not wait for you another
moment. No wonder the odor of
lemon verbena recalled the old days.
Every night since the crisis / have
felt intuitively that you were with me
and have been unable to throw off