On opening their door the next morning, their eyes were gladdened by
a lovely garland which hung on the knob. The flowers were rich in,
perfume and color--unlike anything they had seen on earth.
Much they marveled, and wondered from whence they came, and still
greater was their joy to find they did not fade.
Hope found a great many dwellings with lights in them, but had to pass
many, as there was no lamp to signal them. At the door of the former
she left garlands to gladden the inmates.
"It's no use to waste our oil: we have nothing to read or interest
us," said one of two lonely women, on the night Hope came to the earth.
So they sat down gloomily together, the darkness adding to their
cheerlessness, while a bright glow within would have gladdened them and
all without.
Hope went by, laden with garlands, just as they took their seats in the
shadows. She would gladly have left them, for she had enough and to
spare; but, seeing no sign of a habitation, walked on.
The two women talked of the dreary world until they went to rest. What
was their surprise, in the morning, to find their neighbors rejoicing
over their mysterious gifts.
"Why had we none?" they said again and again. "The poor never have half
as much given them as the wealthy," they cried, and went back to their
gloom and despair.
"Did you find a wreath on your doorstep this morning?" inquired a
bright, hopeful woman at noon, who had brought them a part of her
dinner.
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