xt7ht7279w6g https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7ht7279w6g/data/mets.xml Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows), 1863-1931. 1907.  books b92-277-32008329 English L.C. Page, : Boston : This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Legend of the bleeding-heart  / by Annie Fellows Johnston. text Legend of the bleeding-heart  / by Annie Fellows Johnston. 1907 1907. 2002 true xt7ht7279w6g section xt7ht7279w6g 




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BLEEDING HEART

tE'FFELLOWS2
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srThe LEGEND  
          OF THE

 62BLEEDING-  

 0,    HEART  


2   ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON
     A uthor of " The Little Colonel Series," "Big
       Brother," "Joel: A  Boy of Galilee,"
          "Keefing Tryst," etc.





    L. C   BOSTON           u
    L. C PAGE & COMPANY

    iota .a190

 











                        Copyright, 0oo0
toll           By L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
W.,                    (INCORPORATED)


                        Copyright, 1907
                 BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
                        (INCORPORATED)


                      Afl rights reserved               F











                   First Impression, July, b9oq
















W61                 COLON1A L PRESS  
AID     Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds 6  Co.
                       Boston, U. S. A.

 




















                IN MEMORY
           OF THE ONES THAT GREW
               SO LONG AGO,
        IN OLD "runt Ian fip' GARDEN.










Qy II'N           a            N

 This page in the original text is blank.

 







The Legend of the  

    Bleeding-heart        e

hN    days of old, when all
    things in the Wood had
speech, there lived within its
depths a lone Flax-spinner.
She was a bent old creature,
and ill to look upon, but all
the tongues of all the forest
leaves were ever kept a-wag-
ging with the story of her
  ae             Q

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE

    kindly deeds. And even to
    this day they sometimes
    whisper low among them-
    selves (because they fain
    would h o l d in mind so  I
    sweet a tale) the story of
    her kindness to the little  e
g orphan, Olga.                '
      'Twas no slight task the
    old Flax-spinner took upon
    herself, the day she brought
    the helpless child to share
    the shelter of her thatch.
                 2

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

00  The Oak outside her door
r1 held up his arms in solemn
OFCD protest.
i     ,4 Thou dost but waste
r1  thyself," he said.  "Thy
    benefits will be forgot, thy
    labours unrequited.  F o r
    Youth is ever but another
g   title for Ingratitude."
      "Nay, friend," the old.
    Flax-spinner said. "Mylittle
    Olga will not be ungrateful  w
g  and forgetful."
    or

 




    THE LEGEND      OF THE

      All hedged about with
    loving care, the orphan grew
    to gracious maidenhood, and
    felt n o lack of f a t h e r,
    mother, brother or sister.
   In every way the old Flax-
    spinner took their places.
AW  But many were the sacri-
Ole fices that she made to keep
g her fed and warmly clad,
    and every time she went
    without herself that Olga
    might receive a greater
    n t

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    share, Wiseacre Oak looked
9g down   and  frowned a nd
    shook his head.
      Then would the old dame
    hasten to her inner room,
    and there she pricked her-
    self with her spindle, until a  g
A great red drop of her heart's  
    blood fell into her trembling
    hand.  Wi t h witchery of
    words she blew   upon it,
    and rolled it in her palm,
    and muttering, turned and

    eeNsa

 




    THE LEGEND       OF THE

    turned and turned it. And i
    as the spell was laid upon it,
    it shrivelled into a tiny
    round ball like a seed, and
    she strung it on a thread  .
    where were many others like
    it, saying, "1 By this she will
X/, remember. She will not be
,r, ungrateful and forgetful."
      So years went by, and
g   Olga grew in goodness and t
    in beauty, and helped the
    Id Flax-spinner in her tasks  g

 




a     BLEEDING- HEART

    as blithely and as willingly
    as if she were indeed her
    daughter.  Every morning
    she brought water from the
    spring, gathered the wild
    fruits of the woods, and
2  spread t he linen on the
By grass to bleach. At such    2
    times would the bent old   A
i  foster-mother hold herself
    erect, and call up to the
    Oak, "m Dost see  Thou'rt
Q  wrong! Youth is not an-
                7

 



    THE LEGEND OF THE

    other title for Ingrati-
   tude."
      "Thou hast not lived as Oa
f2  long as I," would be the   c6
    only answer.
      One day as Olga was
    wandering  by the spring,
    searching for watercresses,
    the young Prince of the
    castle rode by on his pran-
    cing charger. A snow-white
    plume warred in his hat, and
    a shining silverbuglehung
    Ri         8  

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    from  his shoulder, for he
    had been following the
r,'W chase.
      He was thirsty and tired,
Or and asked for a drink, buth
F t h e r e was no cup withe
    which to dip the water
    from the spring. But Olga
    caught the drops as they
    bubbled out from the spring,
    holding them in the hollow
g  of her beautiful white hands,
    and reaching up to where
                    9i

 


ADIO
    THE LEGEND OF THE

    he sat, offered  h im  the
    sparkling water. So grace-
    fully was it done, that the
    Prince was charmed by her
  modest manner as well as
   her lovely face, and baring  g
   his head when he had       0
g slaked his thirst, he touched  
   the white hands with his C
 lips.                   C-N
     Before he rode away he c
   asked her name and where    na
   she lived. The next day a
   2         IO            ffi1
   age-  Andrb

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    courier in scarlet and gold  g
 stopped at the door of the g
    cottage and invited Olga to
r/. the castle. Princesses and
    royal ladies from  all over
    the realm were to be enter-
9' tained there, seven days and
l. seven nights. Every night
rl  a grand ball was to    be
    given, and Olga was sum-
    moned to each of the balls.
Q  It was because of her pleas-
    ing manner and her great

    aeaa9QQI

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE

W0 beauty that she had been
1a bidden.
      The old Flax-spinner
103  courtesied low to the courier
    and promised that Olga
    should b e at the castle
g  without fail.
      "But, good dame," cried
   Olga, when the courier had
   gone, "prithee tell me why  g
   thou didst make such a
n  promise, knowing full well
   this gown of tow is all I
   i          I2g

 




  BLEEDING - HEART

own.  Wouldst have me
stand before the Prince in
beggar's garb   Better to
bide at home for aye than
be put to shame before such
guests."-
te Have done, my child! "
the old dame said. " Thou
shalt wear a court robe of
the finest.  Years have I
toiled to have it ready, but
that is naught.  I loved
thee as my own."

asaaaI

 




    THE LEGEND       OF THE


      Then once more the old
the Flax-spinner went into her
    inner room, and pricked her-
    self with her spindle till
    another great red drop of
    her heart's blood fell into
71 her trembling hand. With
    witchery of words she blew  
it=  upon it, and rolled it in her
g' palm, and muttering, turned  l
    and turned and turned it. A
    And as the spell was laid  g
    upon it, it shrivelled into a
                '4

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    tiny round ball like a seed,
lo and she strung it on to a
e-  thread, where were many
    others like  i t.  Seventy
    times seven was the number
    of beads on this strange
    rosary.  the      o
      When the night of the
    first ball rolled around, Olga
    combed her long golden hair
    and twined it with a wreath
    of snowy water-lilies, and
    then she stood before the
                '5

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE

    old dame in her dress of
    tow.  To her wonderment
    and grief she saw there was
    no silken robe in waiting,
    only a string of beads to clasp
    around  her white throat.
    Each bead in the necklace
    was like a little shrivelled
    eed, and Olga's eyes filled
    with  tears of disappoint-
  ment.
      "Obey me and all will be
    well," said the old woman.

    Nct9Qeei

 





       BLEEDING - HEART


5g  Ad"When  thou reachest the

r1 castle gate clasp one bead in
9e  thy fingers and say:

    "'For love's sweet sake, in my hour of
    Blossm need,
4S  Blossom and deck me, little seed.'

    Straightway r i g h t royally
    shalt thou be clad. But re-
    member carefully the charm.
    Only to the magic words,       g
   s For love's sweet sake' will
    the  necklace  give  up  its
    treasures. If thou shouldst
                 '7

 





    THE LEGEND OF THE


    forget, then thou must be
    doomed always to wear thy    g
   gown of tow."
      So  Olga s p e d on her
    moon-lighted way through
    the forest until she came to
Ir & the castle gate. There she
rv-  paused, and grasping a bead
Z2 of the strange necklace be-
    tween her fingers, repeated  M
im  the old dame's charm:
    h For love's sweet sake, in my hour of
         need,
Zo/ Blossom and deck me, little seed."
9j               i8  

 




       BLEEDING - HEAR T

       Immediately the bead
    burst with a little puff as if
    a seed pod had snapped
    asunder. A faint perfume
    surrounded  her, rare and
    subtle as if it had been
    blown across from   some
    flower of Eden.      Olga
    looked down and found her..
    self enveloped in a robe of
    such delicate texture, that  W
2  it seemed soft as a rose-leaf
    and as airy as pink clouds
                '9

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE


    that sometimes float across
It l the sunset. The water-lilies
    in her hair had become a
    coronal of opals.
      When   she entered the
    great ball-room, the. Prince
    of the castle started up from
    his throne in amazement.
    Never before had he seen
I, such a vision of loveliness.
     Surely," said hel nssome
     rose of Paradise hath found
2  a soul and drifted earthward  1
                20

 




      BLEEDING - HEAR T

r1 to blossom here." And all
    that night he had eyes for
    none but her.
F A.S The next night Olga
,r.  started again to the castle
    in her dress of tow, and at
    the gate she grasped the
    second bead in her fingers,
    repeating the charm. This
    time the pale yellow of the
g  daffodils seemed  to  have
    woven itself into a cloth of
    gold for her adorning. It

    iaega2

 




     THE LEGEND      OF THE


  was like a shimmer of  
    moon-beams, and her hair
too held the diamond flashings
    of a hundred tiny stars.  et
    That night the Prince paid
    her so many compliments
    and singled her out so often
    to bestow his favours, that
r1 Olga's head wa s turned..
    She tossed it proudly, and
quite scorned the thought of g
  the humble cottage which  
    A had given her shelter so
    ad given  22

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    long. The next day when
    she had returned to her
    gown of tow and was no
    longer a haughty court lady,
    but only Olga, t he Flax-
    spinner's maiden, she re-
C11 pined at her lot. Frowning,
    she carried the water from
    the spring.  Frowning, she
    gathered the cresses and
    plucked the woodland fruit.
    i And then she sat all day by
    the spring, r e f u s i n g  to

WSWa

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE

    spread the linen o n the
    grass to bleach.
      She was discontented
    with the old life of toil,
    and pouted crossly because
    duties called her when she
    wanted to do nothing but
    sit idly dreaming of the gay  g
    court scenes in which she
A, had taken a bright brief
    part. The old Flax-spinner's
    f fingers trembled as she
    spun, when she saw    the

    in QaQstaQ24

 




       BLEEDING - HEAR T


     frowns, for she had given
     of her heart's blood to buy
     happiness for this maiden
AW  she loved, and  well she
    knew there can be no hap-
    piness where frowns abide.
    She felt that her years of
    sacrifice had been in vain,
    but when the Oak wagged
    his head she called back
    waveringly, " My little Olga
    will not be ungrateful and
L forgetful! "C
    6           25  

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE


      That night outside the
    castle gate, Olga paused.
    She had   forgotten   the
    charm.  The day's discon-
    tent  had   darkened  her
    memory   as  storm-clouds
    darken the sky. But she
    grasped her necklace imperi- 3
  ously.
      ",Deck me at once!" she  g
    cried in a haughty tone.
    AClothe me more beauti-
    fully than mortal maid was  i
    fully than  26

 




      BLEEDING- HEAR T


    ever clad before, so that I
    may  find  favour in the
Ir A Prince's sight and become
rn  the bride of the castle! I
A-owould that Iwere done for
gX  ever with the spindle and
    the distaff!"Y)
      But the moon went under
    a cloud and the wind begants
    to moan around the turrets.
    The black night hawks in
    the forest flapped their
    wings warningly, and their
                27

 




     THE LEGEND       OF THE


     black bats flitted low around
     her head.
     "Obey me at once!" she
     cried angrily, stamping her
     foot and jerking a t the
     necklace.  But the string
     broke, and the beads went
It, rolling away in the darkness
    in every direction and were
    lost -all but one, which
    she held clasped in her
    hand.
      Then Olga wept at the
                28

 




      BLEEDING- HEART


    castle gate; wept outside in
    the night and the darkness,
    in her peasant's garb of tow.
    But after awhile through
    her sobbing, stole the an-
g swering sob of the night
g  wind.
      "Hush-sh! " it seemed to
Flo say. "Sh-sh! Never a heart
    can come to harm, if the lips
    but speak the old dame's
g  charm."
     The voice of the night
                29

 




    THE LEGEND OF THE


    wind sounded so much like
    the voice of the old Flax-
    spinner, that Olga was
    startled and looked around
    wonderingly.  The n sud-
    denly she seemed to see the
    thatched cottage and the
    bent form of the lonely old
    woman at the wheel. All
    the years in which the good
r- dame had befriended her
    seemed to rise up in a row,
Q  and out of each one called
                30

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    a thousand kindnesses as
    with one voice: " How canst
    thou forget us, Olga  We
    were done for love's sweet
    sake, and that alone!"
      Then was Olga sorry and
    ashamed that she had been
ir h so proud and forgetful, and
    she wept again. The tears
    seemed to clear her vision,
r1 for now s h e saw plainly
    that through no power of
g  her own could she wrest
                3'

 





    THE LEGEND OF THE


    strange favours from   for-
    tune.  Only the power of
    the old charm could make
    them  hers.   S he remem- 
    bered  it then, and   hold-
    ing fast the one bead in
    her   hand,  she   repeated  O
g  humbly:
      "For love's sweet sake, in my hour of
         need,
      Blossom and deck me, little seed."
      Lo, as the words left her
    lips, the moon  shone out
    from  behind    the clouds
                 32

 




      BLEEDING - HEAR T -

g   above the dark f o r e s t.
    There was a fragrance of
    lilies all about, and a gos-
    samer gown floated around
    her, whiter than the white-
    ness of the fairest lily. It
    was fine like the finest lace
    the frost-elves weave, and
    softer than the softest er-
    mine of the snow. On her   g
    long golden hair gleamed a  -
    coronet of pearls.       g
      So beautiful, so dazzling  mw
                33

 




     THE LEGEND OF THE

     was she as she entered the
     castle door, that the Prince
     came down to meet her, and
     kneeling, kissed her hand
     an d claimed her as his
     bride.  Then came the
     bishop in his mitre, and led
     her to the throne, and before
g  them  all the Flax-spinner's
    maiden was married to the
    Prince, and made the Prin-
A, cess Olga.
      Then until the seven days
                34

 




      BLEEDING- HEART

    and seven nights were done,
    the revels lasted in t h e
    castle. And in the merri-
    ment the old Flax-spinner
    was again forgotten.  Her
    kindness of the past, her
    loneliness in the present had
    no part in the thoughts of
    the Princess Olga.
      All night the old Oak, tap-
    ping on the thatch, called
    down, Thou'rt forgotten I  
2  Thou'rt forgotten!  
                35

 




     THE LEGEND OF THE

       But the beads that had
    rolled away in the darkness,
0C0 buried themselves in the
ir & earth, and took root, and
    sprang  up, as the   o l d
    woman knew    they would
    do.  There a t the castle
    g a t e  t h e y  bloomed, a
    strange, strange flower, for
    on every stem hung a row
g   of little bleeding hearts.
      One d ay the Princess
    Olga, seeing them from her
                36

 




A-o  BLEEDING - HEART

91 N window, went down to them
    in wonderment.
1    A "What do you  here"  
    she cried, for in her forest
tol life she'd learned all speech
    of  bird  and   beast and
r/1 plant.
r/   ,We bloom   for love's
IC/ sweet sake," they answered.
g 4" We have sprung from the g
g old Flax-spinner's gift- the
   necklace thou didst break
   and scatter. From    her

   aeawa3

 




    THE LEGEND       OF THE

MA heart's  best  blood  s h e
    gave it, and her heart still
    bleeds to think she is for-
    gotten."
      Then they began to tell  g
    the story of the old dame's
    sacrifices, all the seventy
    times seven that she had
    made for the sake of the   -
    maiden, and Olga grieved as
    she listened, that she could
    have been so ungrateful.   x
    Then    she  brought the
                38

 




       BLEEDING - HEAR T

    Prince to hear the story of
    the strange, strange flowers,
    and when he had heard,
    together they went to the
are lowly cottage and fetched
rd the old Flax-spinner to the
    castle, there to live out all
tll her days in ease and con-
    tentment.
     4 "See now," she whispered
    to the Oak at parting, but
rl sturdily he held his ground,
00  persisting, "Thou wouldst
                 39  

 




i THE LEGEND OF THE


    have been forgotten, save
    for  that miracle    of
    bloom."
      A Snd  still the  flower
    we call BLEEDING- Q
    HEAI R T     blooms on by
    cot/age  walls  and  castle
    gardens, /o waken    all
    the world to grateful mem-
    orAes. .4nd  ever i   do/h
obring to mind the lonely
 hearts that bleed because
   they are forgotten, and
   they40

 





      BLEEDING- HEART

X  
&1 all they sacriftced for g
    love's sweet sake, to give us
  happiness.




Xlm         THE END.












                4'
 an          4 iI1RI- i"I R cin! 0  grt