The Washington herald., 1917-05-21
Folk We Touch in Passing
FLOWER OF LOVE.
BY JULIA CHANDLER.

In a protected spot in The Garden of
His Heart The Man planted well and deep
the roots of The Flower which he had
found so Unexpectedly one day in his
Path of Life, making it his chief business
to keep the soil well nourished.
So it came about that, in a short space
OF time, The Flower of Love blossomed
with wondrous perfection, sleeping The
Mans senses with its rare perfume, and
filling him with joy so great that he
spread the news of his happiness broad
cast, declaring it as his intention to de-
vote his best energies TO the care of his
precious possession.
As time went on The Flower Of Love
flourished in The Mans Garden of Life.
The perfume it gave forth was no less de-
lightful than formerly, but The Man
finally became so accustomed to 1t that he
was less acutely conscious of it than in
the beginning of its blessing, and once in
a while he even went so far as to forget
the warning given him, when he went
forth in quest of the plant, by The-Man-
Who-Knows, leaving 1t for a spell so
thoroughly unprotected from the scorch-
ing rays of selfshness and neglect that
when he came back to it to demand its
original perfume and charm he found The
Flower of Love dropping sadly on its
stem, and quite unable to lift its tender
head at the sound of his voice.
Whereupon The Man was at first much
grieved. He was inclined to censure him
self for his failure in its care. and he
went about nourishing the fragile plant
until once again it lifted to him its ex-
quisite blossom
But, when his seasons OF forgetfulness
of its beauty and neglect of its life grew
more protracted. The Man returned TO
The Garden of His Heart irritated that
The Fower which he had meant to cher
ish was not made OF more enduring stun.
Heavens he exclaimed in reproach
of its dropping, "a chap has something to
do in this world save moon around The
Garden of His Heart. Why can't you
get along without so much ckerishing?''
After which The Flower of Love, its
fragile petals bruised and bleeding, droop-
ed more piteously than before in the
scorching sun Of The Mans selfishness
and neglect. Which was his cue to laugh
derisively, and assure the lovely thing
that it might just as we'll get used to
being left TO shift for itself a bit"
And just to show that he meant what
he said, The Man deserted The Garden OF
His Heart for long period, leaving the
most beautiful Flower that grows 10
struggle for existence among the weeds
he allowed to grow beside it.
But one day he said to himself:
Il have been away long enough. I am
sick of The World and all it has to offer.
I will go back to The Garden of My Heart
and to the Sweetest Flower That Grows.
for nowhere else is there any real happi-
ness"
So he opened wide the gate, went within
his garden, and stood stock still in
amazement
For there, in the place where it had
grown and blossomed and sent forth its
exquisite fragrance, The Flower of Love
lay dead, choked by the weeds to which
The Man had given greater cultivation.
Whereupon, human like, The Man went
out and cried his resentment from the
housetops. laying the blame everywhere
save upon himself. that all The World
might hear and give him sympathy.
Copyright lsr7)