Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-12

! fought in the Civil War, so many of them,
men, women and children, had gone to the
! cemetery on the hillside, that the keeping
| OF this especial day was a very sacred
matter in the Northrop family. 1t was an
accepted fact that Ned should leave what
ever business he might have on hand and
come home to help his mother and sisters
TO decorate the graves in the family plot
1t lacked a week of the appointed time
but Ned had run down to Merivale be-
cause the restlessness of the spring sea-
son was In his blood and II was five
years since he had given way to the feel
inG-"weakness," he called 1t, grimly.
His sister, Ellen Northrop, watched him
from the garden. where she had been ex-
amining the SNOWFALL bushes and retoic-
Ing that the lilacs would be just right on
the SOth If the pink rosebush would only
do its duty, so that her mother might
have at least one bud to place on her
fathersSrave, Ellen thought her last fear
would be dismissed. But the pink rose
was shirking its duty: the few buds were
small and unpromising. Ellen let the
branch NY back with a little whipping
sound and tramped through the grass to
her brothers side
II guess mother won't have a pink rose
this year" she said, gloomily ''It looks
as II the bush were dying"
Il might get some roses in the city
Ned was beginning. when Ellen in
terrupted with an impatient gesture
You know it isn't just roses she
wants-its roses from that bush that
she and father planted the day they came
to i've In this house. It's the sentiment
of the thing-and I hate to tell her, sbe'u
feel so disappointed"
thought Aunt Celsta had slip |
from the bush-wouldn't that be the same |
thing?' asked Ned
or course that would do only Aunt |
Celista's bush died three years ago"
Didn't mother give a slip to anybody |
sIse! Know she was always exehang-
ing flowers with folks"
She never gave away hut two slirs
ot the pink rose. One went to Aunt Ce-
ista and the other" Ellen hesitated.
md paused in some confusion.
essly, care
She gave it TO Estelle Bromley" de-
,lared Ellen, bluntly. "She gave n 10
astelle the day-the day your engage
h"ht was broken or" She stopped I'm
t ,uuueh terror at what she had done.
y before had she mentioned the fact
u her brothers broken engagement and
ne was afraid of what he might saw
1e stood still and listened. with hant
lead and, when she had finished he
urned toward her such white faoe
nat lnVoluntarily she reached ont ana
lutched his arm anu
On. I'm sorry Ned ought not to
ave spoken" she whispered.
I'm glad you did, Ellen. That mint
ose caused all my unhappiness n me-
ny own fault-Estelle has never bssn
plame' although 1 thought she was
ntil this moment" vas
You quarreled over the pink rose that
lother gave her-oh. Ned. how could Won
e so foolish2' ''u
Ned snniIad xvaar{t,. ,,r
ever was cause yet that was worth a
usrrel-but people will go on maxine
'ols OF themselves over trifes brf
aally 4 believe I'm the biggest one OF /
'But-Estelle-we always thought she
as 10 blame" said Ellen in a puzzled
W., y seemed strange to be talking /
ad Estelle had been schoolmates ana r
AT friends, but loyalty to the brother 4
is ioFed had prompted Ellen TO blame | l
steile for the broken engagement
met Frank Lakom that day ana he
"a been buying a pink risebud-said ~
as buying II Tor a girl he knew. Thai 2
me night Estelle showed ma tbs I
lsh In her yard and told me 10 susss : :
40 gave Il 70 her, named FranJ-,,o1, 9
low ne had been attentive 10 her-snd =,
e laughinsly denied II, but L insiats5 .
SAID things that were unforeivabla ~
- u"'s ana Estelle ended everything Il
tween u.s. Pride on both sides ala ne 4.
81 or course, it's too late now-shs ''
s forgotten me sHe
.is looAea away with such regret in ],
eyes mat Ellen, frightened al he 1,
imofies she had dlsinferrad sff,,,s5
'ay and went into the house where ~ -
d her mother the story OF ne pinF
ieoush' and what disaster "a ~ y
ought in Ned's life. IN
irs. Northrop was a small. 0drv g.
man. with snow-white hair ana del
e features that belied the strong viii
z lay behind her apparent gentieness
nad Utterly blamed Estslle Bromley -
hef part in Ned's unhappiness. and n.
, that the other Side of ths siore hsd \,
ehed her she was quite = eager = II =