
E-text prepared by Bill Tozier, Barbara Tozier, Mary Meehan,
In the rain‑slicked streets of 1890s New York, a young street‑sweeper named Archiel Trevlyn dreams of bringing a single white rose home to lift his mother's spirits. The bustling city, the mud‑caked sidewalks, and the sting of poverty frame his day, as he saves every penny he can find while imagining the smile his mother's face would wear with a fresh bloom.
Just as hope begins to fade, a sudden, almost angelic voice belongs to a little girl in a blue silk frock, who appears among the flower shop's display and hands Arch a bouquet without asking for payment. Her warm, spirited chatter and mysterious generosity spark a flicker of magic in the gloom, hinting that ordinary lives can intersect with the extraordinary. As Arch clutches the roses and watches the girl's carriage disappear, listeners are left wondering what unseen forces have set his simple act of love into motion.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (238K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-06-04
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1839–1905
A hugely prolific 19th-century American writer, she published under the names Clara Augusta and Hero Strong and built a reputation in popular fiction. Her work ranged across poems, stories, and dime novels, making her a familiar name to magazine and mass-market readers of her time.
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