Only A Bunch Of Violets

Seated in the corner of a Broadway car was a fraii, little crippled boy, evidenly an Intense sufferer from a spinal disease. His head and the upper part of his body were enclosed in a network of steel and leather, and an iron brace was tightly strapped to the side ot one of hs Ieg3. Poverty, too, seemed to be nis misfortune. His clothing was of cheap material and bore the stamp of home malie, and in every finger of the black cotton gloves worn by his 15-year-old sister, who accompanied him, there was a. hole. Her dress was patched in several places, and her hat was a thin, straw affair, trimmed with a band of faded red ribbon; but wlthal she was wondrous neat and clean. At Twenty-third street a handsomely dressed young woman boarded ihe car and dropped into a seat directly opposite the pair. Tucked In the folds of her coat was a big bunch of fresh, doublé violeta, tied with a long purple ribbon and their fragrant odor at once pervaded the car. The little boy caught the scent and at once his great brown eyes were thrown upon the flowers. Then he whispered something to his sister, who blushed and told him to wait awhile. Turning his attention again to the violets the lad gazed upon them until his eyes grew bright and round, and every few moments he would draw an extra long breath, as lf to take in all of the sweet perfume he could. Soon every one in the forward part of the car was watching him. From the look of admiration there grew In those brown eyes an expression of longing so earnest and deep that it made the heart thrill with sympathy, says the New York Herald. The young woman, with charmlng emotions, glanced uneasily at the boy at intervals, and soon the power of those eyes and the soul they revealed overéame her. With a quick tug she drew the violets from her coat, and, with a tear springing to her eye, handed them to the boy, purple ribbon and all. Before thp child recovered (rom his great joy she sought the platform and was gone. Nearly all the men sitting near by suddenly resumed interest in their newspapers and some coughed. The women looked straight ahead througn the glass, beyond the sidewalk, and much further than the obstructing show Windows and doorways. It was not an earthly view that pictured itself to them; their visión was turned toward their hearts into the tiny corner where fondest of all hopes and sweetest of sad memories were treasured. The boy- wel!, do I need to teil you of his happiness? And sister? Poor eister' she feit so ashamed. But what could she do?