Page:Maud Howe - Atlanta in the South.djvu/152

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146
ATALANTA IN THE SOUTH

of flowers bloomed sedate and perfect on trellis and tree; over the more modest dwellings the blossoms cast their wonderful beauty; and from the neglected garden patches about the hovels of the poorest denizens of the city, roses, red and white and yellow, bloomed in a wild luxuriance. Early in the mornings, before the dew was dry upon the flower petals, Margaret was wont to seek a garden where she was privileged to pluck roses till her thirst for them was satisfied and her arms became weary with the weight of the sweet burden; and here it was that Robert found her on the very day that Philip Rondelet came back to the city he had left two months before. Here he found her, and here they walked and talked together among the roses; and here Philip saw them as he passed on his way to Jackson Square, and at the sight of them turned white and faint, and leaned against the railing for a minute, and then went on his way wearily.