The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-03-17

come back to you. l shall never gc
far from you. beloved, not for a mo
ment, till you rejoin me-
Andrew Garretson always remem
bered that evening, for on the next
day Mary was taken i'll with conges-
! ton of the lungs. She never recov.
cred. The chill settled deep into her
system; tuberculosis, the dread dis.
ease of that period, supervened. In
vain they closed the windows and
condemned her to a single, unventi.
lated room. She grew rapidly worse
and died less than three months after
the onset of the disease-died with
her hands in Garretson's, and her
head on his breast, and her eyes
turned up to his in confidence of the
continuance Of their love through all
mortal changes.
For weeks after the funeral An
drew Garretson was out of his mind.
When at last the loving nursing of
Mrs. Lassalle brought him back to
health, he took up his life with the
profound conviction that Mary was
ever with him, watching over him.
sometimes those three would sit at
the table and try to obtain messages
from her. But though the usual phe-
nomena occurred, even to their minds
it became obvious that Mary was not
there. that some lying or evil intel
lgences controlled the tits. At last
by tacit consent these sittings were
abandoned.
There never were such flowers as
grew In the Lassales' garden that
nrst summer after Mary's death. And
their peach orchard, which had never
done well, now blossomed out into q
marvel Of beauty. Deep, wine-red
blossoms covered the young shoots.
and after a while it seemed as though
the strength Of the flowers was all
concentrated in these peach trees,
People came from far and near to look
at them. And the next year It was
the same. Andrew Garretson, now one
of the faculty. obtained the reputation
OF one who could make anything
grow for him"
It's quite common" interposed.
Tive often heard people say that
flowers will not grow for them, while
others can charm them and have
wonderful gardens"
Doctor Emmanuel shot a quick
glance at me. YES" he answered.
Flowers are quite conscious of the
of those who tend them.
But perhaps the most astonishing
thing, and one which puzzled ex.
perts froGu various botanical stations.
was that. in his presence, the plants
actually lost the heliotropic faculty"
What on earth's that, doctor?"
asked Tarrant
"The faculty of turning toward the |
sun. Plants in window boxes, you
may have noticed, invariably turn
their backs disdainfully upon their
possessors, and point outward toward |
the light. Yet 1t was affirmed that
iarretson's window plants pointed in
ward. However, whether this were
The case or not, spoke Of the peach
in which all the power that
ne evoked seemed to be centered.
$50 the years rolled on. Garretson
vas now thirty-five. His fiancee, had
The lived. would have been over thir-
y. Mrs. Lassalle had died two years
previously, and the old professor, who
her loss desperately and
'ould not be comforted, suddenly en-
to find happiness in life by
again. Until this time Gar
etson had lived with the Lassales-
hat is to say till the lady's death, and
lfterward with Lassalle alone. The
Idvent of the new mistress changed
III that. Naturally a woman does
lot want her husbands friend, and q
rosy fellow at that, as a perpetual
'oarder. Added to which, the new
drs. Lassalle conceived a distinct
version to Garretson. So he moved
ut Of the house, and about this time
'assalle, being superannuated, re-
lred with his wife to little country
lome some twenty miles away. So