'What, under heaven, are you going to do with five baskets?' he asked;
but Billy was non committal, for he would not own that three were
intended for Jerrie, whom he wished to carry off the palm so far as
flowers were concerned.
And she did; for of all the young ladies who the next day passed in
review before the multitude, no one attracted so much attention or
received so much praise as Jerrie. For clearness of reasoning, depth of
thought, and purity of language, her essay, though a little too
metaphysical, perhaps, was accounted the best, and listened to with rapt
attention. And when the musical voice ceased, and the young girl, who
had never looked more beautiful than she did then, with the sparkle in
her eyes and the flush on her cheeks, bowed to the audience, bouquets of
flowers fell around her like hailstones, while basket after basket was
handed up to her, Tom Tracy's book showing conspicuously from the rest
and attracting unusual admiration.
But, alas for poor Harold's gift! Dick had watered it the last thing
before going to bed and the first thing in the morning, but the flowers
were limp and faded, and gave forth a sickly odor, while the leaves of
the roses were dropping off, and only the size, which was immense,
remained to tell what it once had been.
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