The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-09-23
The Magic Of Love
BY wINIFRED BLACK

The children were in high glea
this morning.
They brought something homo
from down the hill. where the shops
are--something mysterious and weird
and magic. they said, and they tipfoed
around and brought a great blue hoMl
with white flowers in the rim ana
they f1lled the bowl with clear water.
and then they set the bowl on fha
little step that leads to the plaza
where the tall hoilyhocks stand
watching over the wall 10 see wha
is being good and who is being bad
down in the village, and they opened
q little white wooden box and took
out wee shasfngs OF things. like liz
tie spiinters from some stocky plant,
aud the little boys eyes grew dark
and wonderful
My turn first, said he. and into
| the bowl he dropped one of the little
splinters, and II was no longer q
splinter: II lowered slowly, slowly
a blossom IL crimson on the shining
surface OF the clear water.
Oh" sighed the little boy in ec-
stacy. OH IL WEAKLY is a flower, q
water over It's magic, mother; 10
is WEAKLY. WEAKLY magic.
And the little girl smiled myster-
iously and opened her lily-like hands,
and down in the bowl of water dron.
ped another splinter. "sh-ht" whis-
pered the little girl. I've wished 1t 10
be something and the dull, dead
splinter. like the other, opened and
biossomed into a over OF celestial
| blue. and by the side of ii rode a tiny
| ship for fairies. And then the bowl
was fun. Little ducks swan in tina
clear water. bIuebirds darted here
and there, a lily taHfosdetf it's white
petals. rose blushed as only roses
DO, and fair ship set san across
the bowl into unknown seas.
oh" said the little boy. his gray
| eyes wide with wondering delight;
oh, love TO see magic, mother: 7
love To see magic."
And the children laughed and
t played for an hour with the biae
bowl Of clear water and the tiny
| spiinters
| The little boy came and looked into
my face with his clear eyes that are
like little lake in the forest.
| 'isn'r 1t funny" said he. sIsnt
it funny about magic things? They
stay in box and they look like Just
anything else, and then you take
| them to water and put them in and
they are be-au-ti-ful things-aIl at
once. just because OF the water, Isn.t
| Ii funny,
| And ! told the little boy ! thought
fit really was funny. very funny. and
something TO be thought OF. The lit.
tie magic water flowers that come In
the wooden box. so plain to see. 50
insignificant. and yet they are magic
| for all that, real magic
How many souls are there like that
humble. quiet. plain. nninterestine.
Battle them in the magic Of love ana
they -tFansfig Hfed.
saw a woman on the street car
| the other day--plain. poor. humble.
| a little dull---and all at once her rath.
| er stupid face was glorified with :
smile that made he beautiful. and I
| looked. and by the roadside stood =
| little homely boy, freekled as a tur.
keys egg, red headed, wide mouthed.
| barefooted.
/ = Hers. she loved him: the magic
flower Of motherhood grew to glorious
beauty right before my dazzIed eyes.
A dull eyed man stood In the office
OF justice the other day waiting.
The door opened, a woman entered.
faded, insignificant little creature
you could never have told her from
thousand OF her kind In crowd.
The mans eyes blazed like stars
and the woman's face shone.
l. They had been waiting for this day
for years The woman had a sick
mother to care for. the man was
bringing up his little sisters. Now
they were free, and today they came
to claim each other and go home to
a friendly freside together after many
years. Magic. again the old, old
magic OF love-