Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-08-09
Ten Words or Less ZEN Cents
The Story of a Rose
By MARY A. OVER
Copyright, 1910, by American Press
Association.

Giles found their pages dis
played to the world they would fill a
museum. These Enclosures would be
made up of faded flowers, memoranda,
bits of lace and occasionally a letter.
And among those letters there would
be found some that would wreck the
peace of families. A librarian once
told me that every book returned to
the library was shaken and almost al
ways something would drop out. How
many of these articles could tell a love
story?
Here Is one of a rose:
/ amor was-a white rosebud.
When 1 was born 1 don't remember
any better than people remember when
they were born. 1 was very young
when 1 was plucked, and that is the
earliest event in my life that l recall.
It was a June morning, June Is QTl
tell later why l know this, and most
of the dewdrops on me had been alb
sorbed by the air. A young man came
into the garden. He was barely nine
teen and as handsome as a picture.
He wore no hat, and the sunshine
poured In and out Of his tumbled hair.
He looked about among us flowers as
If searching for one he especially
wanted. Then his eyes lit on me. ]
was the only bud Just opened. he
plucked me and took me into the
house. After breakfast he put me In
his buttonhole and, calling his dog
set out down the road. Presently he
stopped before a house, on the piazza
of which stood a girl. She, too, was
very young-only seventeen, / fancy
and was dressed in pure white, not q
bit of color about her. The young man
turned In at the gate and Joined her.
II have come to say goodby," he said.
II am going away this afternoon to
take the position that has been offered
to me-"
l saw the girl change countenance. !
don't think he noticed 1t, but you
know a man has not the delicate perl
ceptive faculties Of a white rose. They
sat down together on wicker chairs
and chatted for a long while. 1t SEEM
ed to me that he would have liked to
tell her that he loved her, but some
reason iaterposed, probably the fact
that he was just starting In life and
both were very young. At any rate, he
rose to go without having done so.
But he did the next best thing. He
offered me to her and told her that II
she would keep me till he came again
he would have q secret to tell her.
She tried to look Indifferent when he
called his dog and started back home.
But as soon as he was well down the
road she ran into the house, taking me
with her, and up to her room, where
she wept a long while. Then she no
ticed me on her bureau, where she had
placed me, and put me in water.
There l remained till she went to bed.
Just before doing so she placed me in
a book Of poems.
In the morning as soon as she awoke
she opened the book and kissed me.
Then, lest / should fall from between
the leaves, she pinned my stem to the
leaf. Under me she wrote June is.
This book Of poems was to be my
permanent home, a very fit dwelling
place for a white rose. The girl read
the book very often and always caress-
ed me when she did SO. A year pass
ed, and when the next summer had
gone she wrote under me on the mar
gin of the page:
wi he lever Gomez"
Years passed. don't know how
many, perhaps five or six-and he did
not come. Then the girl went away,
leaving me with her other favorites.
More years passed. One day a man
came into the DOM where I was and
packed all the books, the one l was In
among the number. and they were
carted away. When the box contain
ing me was opened a man took out my
book dwelling and placed 1t on a shelf
of a shop with other books.
l must have been by this time eight
or ten years old. At any rate, my
leaves were yellow and brittle, though
my stem was still firm. One day q
man came into the bookshop and
asked If they had a certain book OF
poems. l was taken down and handed
to him. He opened the cover, and
when he saw the name written on the
fiyleaf | felt his hand tremble. Then
he turned over the leaves till he came
to the page to which l had been PIN
ned. His fingers clutched the book in
q sort Of spasm.
How muchT' he asked the shop
keeper.
'Oh, you can have that for 10 cents"
The purchaser tossed a bill on the
counter and, forgetting his change.
hurried away. The shopman called
after him, but he did not hear.
l didn't recognize the purchaser till
he saw me in the shop and what was
written under me. Then / knew him,
despite a full beard he wore. he took
the book and me to his room In bach
elor quarters, and there l remained a
week. Then one day he wrapped US
carefully in paper and. took US to an
other city on a train. We there entered
a house. and In a few moments a lady
entered. The man looked at her and
said:
~ have come at last"
The lady looked at him and uttered
a little cry. He handed the book to
her, open at the page TO which I ~as
pinned, and my dear mistress and l
looked each other In the face again.
/ now live with the two, who are
married, and am considered the most