OCR Text |
Show FIRE mm FANCY. An Interesting Discussion Between a Philosophical Phil-osophical Fire Escape and a Peregrinating Pere-grinating Vine. FEENCH WAY OF EEWEDING MEBIT The Value of a Silver Dollar-Burglars Caught By Electricity Deserta-tion Deserta-tion on tie Fly. "Very foolish to cling to me. Suppose Sup-pose an accident wore to happen, where would you be? Torn, trampled, crushed under hurrying feet. Look at those suoflowers. They stand on their own stms, they do. Catch them sticking thir saucy yellow heads between my bars; not much! I like independence. I do." Thus spake the fire escape, "How hard hearted you are!" murmured mur-mured the vine, singing a tendril lovingly, lov-ingly, above the upper railing. "I was born so," replied the fire escape, es-cape, grimly. "And how cold!" continued the vine. "My nature," growled the fire escape. "But I love you," whispered the vine, "because you are so strong and so tall and such a help to me! When I was a litUe thing, and a stranger in this street, I looked up and saw you, great and dark, reaching almost to the sky. Ah! you looked so terrible, aud, if you will pardon me, so ugly, that I was frightened fright-ened at first, but then it was pleasant and restful to lean against your mighty frame. I quite gave myself up to it, and grew and grew, and budded and blossomed, till, as you know, the passers-by passers-by stop in amazement, saying, "How beautiful that fire escape looks!' " "Still ours is not a suitable union," persisted the fire escape. "I have a great mission to perform; I am here to save human life. You should have cast your lot in with some nice country cottagenot cot-tagenot a coarse old tenement like me." "Love goeth whither it is sent," sighed the vine meekly, and clung closer. That night a woman with a babe at her breast dropped a lighted lamp. Flame darted here, there, everywhere, hungrily, gloatingly. People madly flung their poor possessions from the windows. Engines rattled through the streets. Brave men climbed the sturdy fire escape, es-cape, and carried children aud women down its iron sides. Splendid streams of water played upon the blazing building. build-ing. Morning dawned, pale and blue. The fire escape stood tall and dark, but the poor, pretty little vine lay dead at its fe?t, a victim of misplaced affection. Pearl Eytinge in Dramatic News. |