lken cover, she began to seek for an
explanation of that blush in the carriage, which she was so glad that
the darkness had screened from the eyes of her father. She argued to
herself that, as she did not love any one, and never would or could do
so, she had answered quite truthfully the question which had been put
to her. Then why the blush? She had always understood a blush to be a
sign of guilt or shame, and she was not conscious of either. She did
not readily read the riddle, and while yet seeking to unravel it, she
gently drifted away into dream-land. How long she wandered in this
mystic realm without adventure worthy of recollection I know not, but
at some hour during that night she experienced a sense of heavenly
happiness.

It seemed to her that she was walking along a trackless desert. The
sun beat down heavily, withering up the shrubbery, and drying up all
the moisture in the land. Everything about seemed parched and dying
except herself. She had a plentiful supply of water, and walked along
without fatigue or suffering from the heat. Presently she came to a
stone, upon which sat an old woman, who looked at her and begged for
water. Agnes immediately took her water-bottle, and was about to place
it to the lips of the old woman, when lo! she observed that the water
had nearly all evaporated, so that only enough was left to slake the
thirst of one person. At this she was surprised, having thought that
there was a plenty, but not even for an instant did she consider the
propriety of keeping the water for her own uses. Without hesitation
she allowed the old woman to drink all, to the last drop. In a second,
the woman had disappeared, and in her place there was a most beautiful
being, a fairy, as Agnes readily recognized, from the many
descriptions which she had heard and read. The fairy thus addressed
her:

"My dear, you have a kind heart, and shall be rewarded. Presently you
will leave this desert, and come into a garden filled with delicious
flowers. Choose one, and the wish that enters your heart as you pluck
it shall be gratified. But of two things I must warn you. The flowers
are all symbolic, and your wish can only be appropriate to the blossom
of your choice. Second, you can go through the garden but once; you
cannot retrace your steps. So be careful how you decide."

As the last words were uttered, the fairy vanished, and Agnes walked
on, hoping soon to enter the garden of promise. A mile farther, and