The Palatka news and advertiser., 1916-12-29

man came and mended Marie Roses
house for her, mailing up boards and
Stats and bits Of sail cloth against the
winter which was nearing. Also he
replaced the tiles in her stove, patch
ed her up a bed shelf and cupboard,
and a table of the rudest, so that she
could sleep and eat. All this was
done early in November.
By the middle of December she had
so contrived, with that curious, ines
timable thrift which is the gift of
some of the poorest people, that her
home began to have an air of joy
fulness and peace.
AS she sat there each day making
lace by the waning twilight, for there
were no more candles for her, there
was such an expression of holy ex-
pectancy on her round russell face as
bestowed upon it something like the
radiance of saint in picture.
1t grew dark early on the twenty
| fifth of December. But there was
the stove, and Marie Rose, like many
others, was out every day gathering
in wood with her little cart and her
lame dog, the faithful beast trotting
along happily enough if he got a
bone or a crust from the restaurant
Leopold Second. 1t was not diff
cult to gather wood in those days in
Antwerp.
There was plenty of it, fine wood
rosewood of pianos, walnut, oak, ma
/! hogany, maple, cherry, ebony, not to
speak of coarser kinds, bits of every
conceivable piece of household furni-
ture made into fuel by the pitiless
German shells.
So the Kaiser chopped Marie Roses
frewood for her, as she laughed to
herself and said, when she fed her
stove while the flames leaped high
and cracked cheerfully. She had put
by her lace pillow and her knitting
needles as well. She pulled open the
five bureau drawers, as she did every
night, and inspected Marie Roses
garments in all their bravery of mus
lin, crocheted lace and cheap ribbons.
She also fetched from the inner
room, from Philippe's bed-cupboard,
where she now stored it, the beautiful
artificial tree, green and fresh and
fine as ever, which the merry, gen.
erous player-folk had long since sent
her for Mari Rose, the carton of col
ored balls, the festoons of tinsel
fringe, the tin candle-sticks with their
green tiny candles, the jack-in-the box,
the Noah's ark, the tin kitchen, the
washboard, the milk cans, and dog
and cat that barked and meowed, and
the splendid china angel with out
spread wings, to be hung on the top
branch of the muslin tree.
To be sure Marie Rose said to her
self, at is only month away and l
may as we'll make a festival tonight,
for it is a bad storm, with snow and
wind and freeze; maybe, when the
saints look down they will be pleased
to see at my window, through the pa
Per pasted there, gay appearance. |
will arrange it all as is will be when
Marie Rose, the little one, arriveS!"
Whereupon, first of all the scrub
woman knelt down before her mantel-
shelf and prayed fervently that all the
German soldiers who stepped upon
the floors she had scrubbed in the res
taurant Leopold Second might slip
and break their bones and suffer a
great deal.
Then she rose up, refreshed, and
dressed the muslin tree in all its fin
cry and piled the stove quite full of
the bits of an oak dining table, and in
the genial warmth Marie Rose sat
down on the rush chair and fell asleep.
Outside the blast howled and roar
ed, and the snow swirled and the mists
from the Scheldt crawled up with the
snow and rode on the wings of the
wind all through and through the fall