The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1908-12-29
By FRANK z. SWEET.
Copyright. 1903, by American Press
Association.

"As | turned there stood that-that-
vision. Blessed If I did not think 1t
was fairy. l had never seen the like
before. For a moment forgot even
my anxiety bout my dearest mamma
Oh, can see her now-the folds Of
her filmy white dress. the little blue
slippers with the straps over the an
kles. the long golden curls and the
plying violet eyes. And the poor little
devil of a kid in a faded shirt and
blue jeans-how he WINGED and felt
ashamed
"And then the vision spoke. She
came to me shyly and held out rose
"T wish you would take this, she
said, holding 1t out, far out. and
saw then that tears were running
down her pink cheeks. / did not take
the rose, but the birch switch dropped
from my hand, and my heart turned
to ice. Poor little kid Poor kidd
"'My mamma sent me to meet you,
she said and sobbed, brushing the
palm of her hand across the track of
her tears. 4 wish you'd take the rose.
l came to stay all day wifi you. May
be l can stay all day tomorrow. L
I've got white kittie. We brought 1t
from our former charge. I'm the new
minister's little girl, you see, and you
may have my kittie, and-and know
how to string red berries into booful
strings of beads, and-and'-
"She pushed the rose into my hand
and then turned away, and | saw her
bare white shoulders toss up and down
in tumult of sobbing.
'What awful, horrible hurts there
can be in this little life of ours.
knew. knew.
aT threw the rose as far as l could
dash it and flung myself into the sand
by the roadway.
~ did not cry out. beat the earth
with my clinched fists and my bare
face. The sand filed my mouth and
blinded my wet eyes. and the blood
oozed out and clotted across my throb-
bling temples.
'@rhen people came and wiped away
the sand and the blood, and the shak-
ing voice of a woman kept saying.
Poor boy, poor little boy!
"a team drove along the road and
crept out into the grass in order to
pass me. Then heard neighbor say:
Let me take the little shaver into the
Vaughn Poor little felleri 1t is dret-
full student for i'm. but still Mis- Lof-
tus haz he'd the heart disorder fur
good spell back
f1,o n nj
truth as soon as j saw the tears In
the eyes Of the little strange girl. The
dreadful blow had fallen.
"They carried me into the house.
full now Of sad faced. whispering wo-
men. that very room where / had
kissed my mother a merry goodby not
more than half an hour ago. Away In
the darkened bedroom they had laid
her and spread a white sheet over her
face. Motherl
But the great wheel Of the years
kept turning. The old life was
thing of the past. The boy was home
less, friendless But the years did
not stop, and as they turned l grew
out of my blue jeans and no longer
went barefoot. And now l was In
love with the minister's daughter,
Just the same angel that stood that
night at the bars, the beautiful vision
with a woman's tender heart. And
then came ambition. that great,
swelling sea that swallows up all
else Of life"
He swept his hands out and in the
gesture included all the magni6cence
that wealth could give. all that his
surroundings implied.
"T1l give you my white kittie.'
Dear little heart, what was she not
ready to sacrifice for me always?
And l, brute, the beast of selfishness
and ambition clothed over with the
garments of man, I-yes, 1t was the
old story. In my selfish sorrow
threw her rose in the dust. At first
I said: There is not enough for two.
1 can have just what l want at the
club If l am alone l broke her
heart and drifted away from her.
waiting till | should have enough for
two to live in the style l desired.
ooh, never for an instant did in
tend to lose her. only just to make
her wait till we could begin life In
the style that would give us just the
social position desired.
81 did not think she realized my
selfshness. l did not myself. And
then the unexpected happened. Her
father died. and she took a position
as companion for a wealthy invalid,
and they went to Europe.
"She may be married for all
know and have forgotten me, and L
well, 1 am perfectly happy. am
sure. Hanged If ! know what mas
got into me that can't think of any
thing else tonight i don't want to
think of her-of course ! don't. | am
perfectly content as l am. Yes, her
white kitten was as the apple of her
eve. Beryl-a pretty name Beryl
Bayswinter. I wonder II she did mar
nv. l saw Teddy bears and woolly
dogs and cotton cats in the shop win
dows tonight, and l thought Of the
Christmas trees mother used to make
for me-red apples and striped candy
and popcorn, with tallow dips for
candles. It's the old memories that
have got into my brain tonight. Con-
found the holiday season anyway!
But l believe I'll take turn down by
the shops and shake them off. can
make a lot of little buffers happy
with a handful of Christmas pennies.
1t is not that l want a home-with
Beryl in it-no-certainly not. I'll
Just go to-to-I am perfectly salts
fed as l am. But I'll take look
around to-to-well. to pass the time
away"
The stores were ablaze with light,
and the windows twinkle with tinsel
and toys and the tired shopgirls
were behind their counters until 10
O'Clock at night. John had spent a
pocketful of dimes, and there was but
one left-that Is, but one dime left OF
the ten dollar bill that he broke when
he stood treat to Christmas toys for
| the first ragamuffin he met as he
started out TO do the Santa Claus act
on a small personal scale.
As he turned to take the car he