The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-02-10

| who attended Earlham eollege-Edi-
| tor.
/ Samantha awolxe with start
What time was it? What could be the
| matter? She could not remember of
time during the fifteen years she
had been living alone that she had
| not been awakened by the cocks first
screamed warning of early dawn. She
glanced toward the window but could
not see the earth as the snow. which
had been falling more or less steadily
for three days, had drifted almost up
to the sash of her little downstairs
bedroom window. Above, she could
see the trees, their branches drooLing
downward with the dazzling white
burden She raised upon her elbow
and lay thinking and gazing a long
time Her brow was closely knit
with perplexity; the thought had for
the first time dawned upon her that
she was young no longer On her
face was pictured lonliness. regret
and Sadness and it truly mirrored her
mind. She was growing old, yes she
was almost fifty-four-why today was
the fourteenth of February, She was
fifty-four today! Why had fate de-
creed that she should be Saint Val
entine's child? His was day of love
and JOY She was loveless and lover
less, and had nothing to be particul-
arly joyful about. Did she deserve
this lot? What was life without love
anyway? A continuous REPETITION of
hard work and sadness. with nothing
to break the monotony, but-oh, oh
dear! the egg-man would be around
early and she had not got the eggs
counted and ready yet!
She sprang up and dressed hurridly.
Before many minutes there was a
roaring fire in the great kitchen stove
and she was busily packing the eggs
in the boxes. She endeavored, but
without result to change the current
of her thoughts. The phrase, "St.
Valentines child, ST Valentines
child rang mockingly in her ears.
There would be no box of flowers or
any token of love left at her door
this day addressed, ITO My Valen-
tine No, no one loved her. Tears
filled her eyes for an instant but she
brushed them away with the corner
of her apron and murmured, Come,
come don't be foolish" and before
she knew what she had done she had
penciled upon an egg, IS. ]. Saint
Valentines forgotten child" and had
placed it in the box with the other
eggs as though nothing had interrupt
ed.
1t was not until the iocund little
egg-man had taken the boxes away |
had done. How could she have done |
it? What had possessed her? Well |
it was too late to mend now. 50 she |
tried to console herself by thinking |
it would not be noticed, but secretely |
hoping that it might fall into his" |
hands, and that his eyes might be |
arrested by it. She was a stanch /
believer in the theory that for every
person there is mate born. She +
was busy with her work all day, and i
when she retired she was 1
far from happy, the dark clouds of i
had been parted a tiny /
bit allowing slender ray of hope TO
shine through; and she fell into Sc
rene slumber.
Always during the cold months, and
most particularly in February there
Is scarcity of eggs The aforesaid
peddler found considerable trouble in
meeting the demands of the grocers-
He had been delighted when he had
seen Samantha's twenty dozen. Her
house was the last to visit. SO after
with her he had hurried back
10 town to supply the dealers
He had distributed all with the ex-
ception of one box. which he had de-
.ided to keep, and was going home
when tall, gaunt man came to the
loor of small grocery and called in