Rockingham post-dispatch., 1922-04-20
Little
Flower-Blosson1
By JUSTIN wENTwooD
HIIIIIIIInIIIIIIIIIIIIlIlIIIlIIIl,III,III

Copyright 1928, Western Newspaper Union.
Its preposterous, shameful, intol-
cradle, unhumanw said Mrs. AHder-
son.
$50 told the cub myself, oc there
abouts," replied her husband, Frank
Anderson, the banker. but it's hard
to make him understand. You know,
he always was queer in social ways"
That's just the point" answered his
wife. "And that's what comes of TAX
ing up social work in the slums."
If Flower-Blossom could have heard,
she might have let fall the two big
tears that trembled upon her dark
lashes, instead Of winking them away,
according to the Precepts of Women,
which she had learned from her hon.
Orable father before he left her, an
orphan, and she was adopted by the
mission school.
| FlOMer-BlOSsOm was eighteen now,
and she had been designed for teach
er of her own race in this strange land
of America. That was before she met
Tom Anderson, fresh from college, who
meant to devote himself to all sorts
of enterprises among the poor.
He drffted into the school one day
and watched Flower-BlOssom teaching
pOthooks and hangers to score Of
yellow faced black pigtailed children
from the purlieuS of, Chinatown.
FlowerBosSom looked up at him
and-can Chinese girl blush? At
any rate, Flower-BlossOm's pretty,
, Icli.y cnceks Ec.H..e unmistatahly
l.,...>s than ihry had been before.
| Many times after that Tom Ander-
| son found himself in the mission.
| There was no Mr.. Flower-Blossom to
ask him his intentions, but then Tom
was the soul of honor.
Itwas just that which so irrtated
| his parents. They did not approve of
| anything that was not strictly moral,
of course; but still, what was more
awful than Toms announcement that
| he meant to make Flower Blossom his
bride-Flower-Blossom who had only
the haziest idea of social conventions?
All Wing, who sold dried sOles and
| ducks, and strings Of strange vege-
tables in his big shop, waylaid Flow
er-Blossom at the corner Of the street.
Next week sail for home" he said.
/ II am rich. You come with me and
! be my honorable second wife?'
FlOwer-B BLOSSOM shook her head toll
erably. She knew how hard it was to
eradicate heather ideas from her own
| people.
"A man has only one wife," she said.
Il will divorce her!'
Flower Blossom laughed at him,
| though she felt far from laughing.
All Wing had been prosecuting her for
weeks past; she would be glad when
| Tom and she were married.
One day a strange woman came into
the mission school. Flower-BlosSom,
looking up as she bowed to the visitor,
thought she looked little bit like
Tom.
Il want to speak to you," said Mrs.
! Anderson. "lu are the y0urg girl
who is to marry my son next week.
, FloWerBosSom humbled herself to
| the ground, as If correct with ones
mOther-in-law. Mrs. Anderson shifted.
"An absolute heathen, Frank" she
| told her husband afterward.
You understand what this marriage
means:" she asked. 1T means that
Tom will be cut out of his fathers
will. He will never have penny. He
has never been taught TO work. What
are you going to do about it?'
| Flower-Blossom looked like a pink
petal. MY father" she said softly,
twas an honorable Mandarin"
"Oh, dare say" said Mrs. Ander-
son. But I'm not sure he himself
would haze approved. East is east
and west is west, you know
"They told me-" said Flower-Blos-
som, when l went to the mission
school, that all We're equal in America"
"under the law, yes. I'm sure !
don't know whether you can vote or
not, butt don't want you to marry
Toni For his sake" said Mrs. An
derson.
There were four days to the mar
riage. Tom saw Flower-Blossom ev-
cry evening.
II must see as much of you as can,
even though we're going to have each
other forever after Tuesday," he said.
YES" answered Flower Blossom.
Monday night came. Flower-Blos-
som was not at the mission school
that night. Nobody had seen her; she
was not in her room. She had slipped
away quietly, because the Pecepts of
Women says, "Go softly when thou
goest, and, when thou must wound,
let thy steel be sharp and silent"
Far away on board the liner Flower
Blossom bowed herself at All Wings
feet.
I "There is no need to divorce her."
she said humbly. II will be thy hon.
orable second wife,"