She is coming to dress with Daisy , so I can do it nicely . ' Demi mused a moment with his eyes on the bridal bush , and a smile came over his face so unlike any it had ever worn before , that Josie was touched , and looked away as if she had no right to see the dawn of the great passion which , while it lasts , makes a young man as happy as a god . ` Do it , ' was all he said , and gathered a full-blown rose to finish his floral love-message . Charmed to have a finger in this romantic pie , Josie tied a graceful bow of ribbon about the stems , and finished her last nosegay with much content , while Demi wrote upon a card : DEAR ALICE , You know what the flowers mean . Will you wear one , or all tonight , and make me still prouder , fonder , and happier than I am ? Yours entirely , JOHN Offering this to his sister , he said in a tone that made her feel the deep importance of her mission : ' I trust you , Jo . This means everything to me . No jokes , dear , if you love me . ' Josie 's answer was a kiss that promised all things ; and then she ran away to do her ` gentle spiriting ' , like Ariel , leaving Demi to dream among the roses like Ferdinand . Mary and Ludmilla were charmed with their bouquets ; and the giver had the delight of putting some of the flowers into the dark hair and the light as she played maid at the toilettes of ` our brides ' , which consoled her for a disappointment in the matter of veils . No one helped Alice dress ; for Daisy was in the next room with her mother ; and not even their loving eyes saw the welcome which the little posy received , nor the tears and smiles and blushes that came and went as she read the note and pondered what answer she should give . There was no doubt about the one she wished to give ; but duty held her back ; for at home there was an invalid mother and an old father . She was needed there , with all the help she could now bring by the acquirements four years of faithful study had given her . Love looked very sweet , and a home of her own with John a little heaven on earth ; but not yet . And she slowly laid away the full-blown rose as she sat before the mirror , thinking over the great question of her life . Was it wise and kind to ask him to wait , to bind him by any promise , or even to put into words the love and honour she felt for him ? No ; it would be more generous to make the sacrifice alone , and spare him the pain of hope deferred . He was young ; he would forget ; and she would do her duty better , perhaps , if no impatient lover waited for her . With eyes that saw but dimly , and a hand that lingered on the stem he had stripped of thorns , she laid the half-blown flower by the rose , and asked herself if even the little bud might be worn . It looked very poor and pale beside the others ; yet being in the self-sacrificing mood which real love brings , she felt that even a small hope was too much to give , if she could not follow it up with more .
As she sat looking sadly down on the symbols of an affection that grew dearer every XXXXX , she listened half unconsciously to the murmur of voices in the adjoining room .
dawn giver god kind lover mirror moment mood roses study