H.E. Bates Companion

A story of a flower-vendor's romance, the death of his intended, and the flower he gives the narrator in her memory: "I carried the flower in front of me, carefully, holding it in both hands. It was exactly like a steadfast fragrant candle, pure and white as snow, lighting the outer darkness." The story has a Christmas theme and was first published on Christmas. In the Sunday Express (December 25, 1960), Pick of Today's Stories (1961), The Wedding Party (1965).