The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-02-12

The violet held its breath. WHAT
if
But the footsteps passed them By;
n the shadow Of the wall they lay,
unobserved, All save the poppy. whose
glowing color caught the eye OF tiny
tot. A brown hand was thrust forth;
moment OF deEirious Joy and pain,
and the poppy was broken from the
stem and thrust into the apron with
masses Of other flowers Then the
voices died away.
Despair or ETer Seeing the World
The afternoon had vaned and the
sun set. The violet, rose and honey
suckie drooped their heads despOnd-
ingly.
We've neTeF will see what lies
in the shining valley. they told one
another.
But with the morn they looked out,
more hopeful, reFfvifed by the beauty
Of the day. which lent to the far
away prospect new enchantment and
loneliness. Oh. the world the fair,
sweet world. The violet exhaled the
/ perfume Of desire; the rose opened
I its leaves as II it would expose its
heart to the light, and the honey
suckle tossed its curious, yellow head.
Every blade Of grass was bedia-
monded; the insects sang in what
seemed a mighty glade Of jewels.
( Clsaving the air, a lark SCARED high.
and then vanished toward the goal
Of all longing, the beautiful distance.
Must we lie here unseen2T asked
the violet. why did not have the
color Of a poppy2 Who would see
little flower like me?s
"Hush." said the rose. Look!
Perhaps
And, truly, a wom-n was approach
Ing, dragging by the hand child
who could just walk. But if the
little one vas small, he had keen
eyes, for suddenly ne clutched the
violet A cruel grasp that bruised
/ the sensitive leaves; a swapping and
rending; then darkness, which after
ward became half light. In the rip
gathered petticoat of the woman the
violet lay with a thousand other flow
erE.
Now, Kind, we have enough, said
the woman.
What followed until the ceremony
of the sacrifcial offering to the hum
CRY waters was like dream Hymns,
processionsl The voice of the priest,
the shriII singing Of the children
The good Lord bless US this day of
light,
And make us, like the flowers, pure
and bright.
A sudden burst of sunshine, low
ering petticoat, and the violet, to-
gether with the rest of the aromatic
tumble, was cast into the water.
With the cool freshness of the rush
ing stream, failing life returned, and
new exhilaration, delight, anticipa-
ton carried it on with mad impetus.
The End of the Merry Flight.
The merry stream threw the flower
gayly over tiny waterfalls, whirled it
/ dizzily in little eddies, raced it wildly
down an even flow and cast it tenn
porarily into a concourse of buds and
blossoms whose flight had been
| checked by a protruding rock. For a
moment the stream battled with the
great stone for the flowers: with
foamy rushes, it strove for them, until
finally, cIasping them once more in its
embrace. it carried them on toward
the valley.
H This, then, was life; a rapturous
| fight; thrilling journey, opening up
new vistas on every handl Was it
not better than the nook near the old
wall? How long would it last? For
ever? How wide was the kingdom of
the unknown? Unending?
The turbulence of the early fight
became succeeded by comparative
calm, as the stream brsadened and
the slope of the land became less
and less. The foam and sparkle OF
the precipitous journey gave way to
the even tenor of serene and tran
gull movement, a slower progression,
until, finally, the flowers rested in the
shadows of pool.
Night found them still waiting for
the resumption OF the onward jour-
ney, but the waters remained stag
nant. Trailing shadows obscured its
depths, cold and steely shown the
stars. The break of day discovered
no change in their plight. Poppy and
violet faded in the muck on the bank,
Far above on grassy nook, be-
meath the cFumbling wall, the rose
and honeysuckle still sighed for the
fight into the valley and bewailed the
fate which had withheld them from
the quest.-New York journal.