90
XIII. AGAIN A WANDERER 97
XIV. A STRANGE MEETING 104
XV. THE YOUNG COUNTESS'S STORY 108
XVI. HOW THE RING WAS FOUND 115
XVII. REPARATION 123
XVIII. PINE FARM REVISITED 127
XIX. RETRIBUTION 134
XX. FORGIVING AN ENEMY 140
XXI. CONCLUSION 145

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

AN OFFICER CAME TO MARY'S CELL _Frontispiece_

_Facing p._

MARY SHYLY OFFERED HER PRESENT 16

"OH, MY FATHER, BE SURE THAT I HAVE NOT THE RING" 32

SHE RAISED HERSELF HASTILY, FORGETTING HER CHAINS 48

SHE THREW THE BASKET AT MARY'S FEET 64

LOOKING UP SHE SAW THE BEAUTIFUL FACE AND
FIGURE OF A WOMAN 96

MARY WAS AFFECTED TO THE HEART WHEN SHE
HEARD JULIETTE'S STORY 144

THE BASKET OF FLOWERS

CHAPTER I.

THE GARDENER'S DAUGHTER.

The simple story which is told in this little book treats of things
which happened a long time ago in a foreign country, where the manners
and customs are widely different from our own. It is necessary to
explain this at the beginning, because the reader will meet with
incidents in the narrative which would otherwise seem strange and
inconsistent. Two lessons which the story teaches, however, may be
learned in all countries. The first is that the human heart has from
the beginning been full of sin, producing, for the most part, evil
fruit, which results in misery; and in the second place, that there is
only one remedy for this state of the soul, the remedy of God's Holy
Spirit, which, wherever it enters, produces the fruits of righteousness
and perfect peace. It is because we believe that the study of these
opposing principles as exhibited in the experience of others may be
profitable to young readers, that the story of the Basket of Flowers is
now presented.

James Rode, who, with his daughter Mary, forms the subject of our tale,
lived over one hundred years ago in the village of Eichbourg, in
Germany. When he was very young his p