rly winter days, and
they were very beautiful ones. To begin with, there were all the kindly
looks and deeds that were showered upon him from every side. There was
the first snowstorm, too, with the feathery flakes turning all the
world to fairy whiteness. This song David played to Mr. Streeter, one
day, and great was his disappointment that the man could not seem to
understand what the song said.

"But don't you see?" pleaded David. "I'm telling you that it's your
pear-tree blossoms come back to say how glad they are that you didn't
kill them that day."

"Pear-tree blossoms--come back!" ejaculated the old man. "Well, no, I
can't see. Where's yer pear-tree blossoms?"

"Why, there--out of the window--everywhere," urged the boy.

"THERE! By ginger! boy--ye don't mean--ye CAN'T mean the SNOW!"

"Of course I do! Now, can't you see it? Why, the whole tree was just a
great big cloud of snowflakes. Don't you remember? Well, now it's gone
away and got a whole lot more trees, and all the little white petals
have come dancing down to celebrate, and to tell you they sure are
coming back next year."

"Well, by ginger!" exclaimed the man again. Then, suddenly, he threw
back his head with a hearty laugh. David did not quite like the laugh,
neither did he care for the five-cent piece that the man thrust into
his fingers a little later; though--had David but known it--both the
laugh and the five-cent piece gift were--for the uncomprehending man
who gave them--white milestones along an unfamiliar way.

It was soon after this that there came to David the great surprise--his
beloved Lady of the Roses and his no less beloved Mr. Jack were to be
married at the beginning of the New Year. So very surprised, indeed,
was David at this, that even his violin was mute, and had nothing, at
first, to say about it. But to Mr. Jack, as man to man, David said one
day:--

"I thought men, when they married women, went courting. In story-books
they do. And you--you hardly ever said a word to my beautiful Lady of
the Roses; and you spoke once--long ago--as if you scarcely remembered
her at all. Now, what do you mean by that?"

And Mr. Jack laughed, but he grew red, too,--and then he told it
all,--that it was just the story of "The Princess and the Pauper," and
that he, David, had been the one, as it happened, to do part of their
courting for them.

And how David had laughed then, and how he had fairly hugged himself
for joy! And when next he h