IN THE GARDEN OF LIFE. BY CHARLES BUXTON GOING, IN SUCCESS MAGAZINE. Ah, when I first began to plant Life's garden close, I did not know (For I was young and ignorant) What choice of seeds I ought to sow. ‘And many things I planted there Alas! turned out but barren seeds, “ ‘And others died for want of care, And many more proved noxious weeds. But in the midmost place of all A little slip grew, unaware, And it had burgeoned fair and tall Before I knew that it was there. Around its head the sunlight drew, The sweet earth drew around its root, And fairer still-in form it grew To bud, to blossom, and to fruit. And now, so radiant it grows, The garden is a magic bower— of perfume an Space Sofbveiled with beauty and with flower. of rose It looked like a pretty illumina tion, the French cottage-window, with the shaded lamp burning on the centre-table and the muslin curtain (blowing backward and forward in the lilac-scented breeze; and the tab- leau of two young lovers sitting to- gether on the sofa was prettier still. Leslie Brown was a beautiful girl of seventeen, dark-browed and rose- lipped, with a skin like the velvety cream of a magnolia leaf, dark-gray eyes and long, luxuriant hair coiled in a mass of heavy braids around her head. Montagu Lacy was seven-and- twenty, with Saxon features, curls of a deep, golden hue and a silky brown mustache twisting roguishly up at the ends. “But I say, Leslie, you will answer me to-morrow?” pleaded the young man. # “I don’t know, Mr. Lacy—it’s so sudden.” “So is everything sudden in this world.” “I don’t know what mamma would say,” hesitated pretty Leslie. “Shall I take measures to ascer- tain?” solicitously asked Mr. Monta- gu Lacy. “Certainly not,” Leslie answereé firmly. “I have not decided as yet myself.” : “Yes, but Leslie, it’s confounded- ly hard on a fellow.” ; “Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn’t. You must go now, in any event.” “Must 1?” Mr. Lacy arose with a comical grimace. “To-morrow, then?” “I won’t promise.” “Then you are a cruel, hard- hearted girl, and that’s all I have to say on the subject. However, I shall try my luck, whatever may befall.” And, bending lightly, he touched his lips to the rosy dimples of her finger-joints as he went away. Miss Henderson witnessed the whole scene—heard all the words spoken in the murmurous silence of the summer twilight from her vant- age-point behind the hedge of pink- blossomed American laurel. She bit her lip, and, if the ‘baleful eye” could blast like the forked flash of summer lightning, Leslie Brown would have been at that instant smit- ten to the ground. “You are so sure of him, my young lady, are you?” said Miss Hen- derson to herself, “Just wait and see. There may be two words to that bargain.” : One instant Malvina Henderson stood thinking. To let Pretty Leslie Brown run away with the prize for which she had schemed and plotted 80 long was entirely opposite to ail her long-conceived policy—and yet— “I have it,” said Malvina, to her- self. “Yes, I have it. Nothing short of death or madness will part them, and jealousy is a species of mad- ness.” Hurrying through the shrubbery, already wet with dew, as swift and noiseless as a gliding wreath of white mist, Miss Henderson met Montagu Lacy at the front door, just as he had found his hat and lighted the cigar which was to accompany him on his long evening walk. “Mr. Lacy—oh, please don’t throw away your cigar,” she said, coaxingly, and Malvina Henderson could assume a charmingly pleading air when she chose, “but I've walked so fast up from the lodge, for fear you should be gone—and I've such a favor to ask you.” “A favor, Miss Henderson?” “There, now,” said Malvina, with a sweet little laugh, “I knew you would be surprised, but remember!” holding up a taper finger, “it’s a pro- found secret.” “Oh, certainly.” “Well, it’s leap-year, you know, and we girls are going to send Joe Thorneycroft a love letter—just for a joke, you know—and we don’t know what on earth to write, and— and—won’'t you just give us the rough draft of one for us to copy?” “Hr. “Yes, you. You know you've read such lots of delightful English novels, and you can give us just the right idea.” ra AR PIN ES SRT TI REN aE A ea T FRUSTRA By HELEN FORREST GRAVES. A a Sa ‘counseling me.” know that I had a finger in the pie,” 1, 0 Tan on SR A “Beg your pardon,” said Mr. Lacy, laughing, “but I think you young ladies need no suggestions.” “Mr. Lacy, you won't refuse?’ “Refuse? No, not if I really can be of any use; but—" “Allow us to be the judge of that,” cried Malvina, with gay imperious- ness, as she drew him into the library and reached for standish and rose- colored paper. ‘Now you must write a genuine love-letter.” “How shall I begin it?” said Mr. Lacy, good-humoredly yielding the point without betraying a vestige of the impatience he really felt. “Oh, any way. ‘Dear Malvina,’ just for fun.” “Very well.” And Mr. Lacy’s swift pen scratched away over the paper, dashing off the lines with ready inventive genius. “How will this do?” he asked, and read over what he had been compes- ing. Miss Henderson clapped her hands exultingly. “Charming—perfect!” she cried. “How poor, dear Joe will be victim- ized! But you haven’t signed it— little maliciously; ‘but you’ll tell quite a different tale when you see the letter I received from him to- night.” Leslie smiled; what else could she do, secure as she was in Montagu’s adoration of herself. She could only pity her cousin’s monstrous delusion. But Miss Henderson was prepared with testimony to back up ker words. She unfolded the note and laid it on the table. : - “You will believe his own words, if you don’t believe mine,” said she, laughingly; and the blood seemed to turn to ice in Leslie’s pulses at the sight of the well-known handwriting. “My own darling,” it began, but she could decipher no more. head swam, her lips quivered. “I do not wish to read it,” she said hurriedly. “I-—I have no wish to pry into the secrets of others.” “But that is entirely a mistaken idea, Leslie. We both wish you to know our plans. Let me read it to you, if you will not look at it your- self.” She murmured out the flowing sen- tences of love-smitten rhetoric which the unconscious victim had penned so merrily not fifteen minutes before, but Leslie Brown scarcely heard them. It seemed so impossible—so monstrously ‘absurd—that Montagu Lacy should dare to make open love at one and the same time to, herself and this black-eyed, vindictive old maid! That he, whom she had deemed the very impersonation of everything that was noble and chiv- alric, should be so utterly false! If he were untrue, then what and who, in all the world, could be pronounced real? ~ : Miss Henderson’s cooing, hypocrit- ically-sweet voice broke harshly in on the thread of her reflections. “Do tell me how to answer him?” she murmured. ‘You see how he presses for an immediate reply. What shall I say?” : “I—I don’t know,” said Leslie, pressing her hand on her forehead. “My head aches—I don’t think I am very well this evening. Some other time, Malvina, I will answer your questions.” command had barely extended to the uttering of these incoherent sen- what ought we to ‘wind up’ with?” pieces, producing perfect Pat ponders, purchases— lem perplexes. ing, pain, pallor, palpitation. Punishment pursues perti Paper prints fnent policeman. =) TOOOODOCEEV000008209090020020 “Oh, that is simple enough. ‘Yours devotedly,” or ‘Yours until death,’ or some such rhodomontade,” he said, hurriedly scratching off the glowing words. “Now sign it. I am so stupid, you see; I need all your good nature in “Just the initials—in my case it would be M. L.” “How can I ever thank you enough,” said Malvina, rapturously, as she folded the little pink billet. “But you’ll never let Thorneyecroft laughed Mr. Lacy. Pat’s Pathetic Passion. OLICEMAN PAT peruses picture puzzle prize proffer. P Premium promised person purchasing, placing painted pares place, puts pieces promiscuously, pursues particular plan, pompously prophesies prompt performance. . Pieces proceed perversely. Pat pauses perturbed. Prob- Prolonged perplexity produces panic. tiful poteen potations prove pernicious. Protracted puzzling produces profuse perspiration, pant- Pat persists, perseveres, protests perfection possible. pays penalty, perishes pitifully, prone; prostrate. Parents provide proper pall. Priest publicly pronounces panegyrie. pertinent paragraphs praising popular prom- Pat planted permanently.—Camilla J. Knight, in Life. CEBeots06C002030020000000000000000C600200006008CED tences, hurried out of the room, pictures. La paying prodigious price—pre- Plen- Pills procure portial palliation. nacious policeman. Poor Pat Malvina watched her with a sly, cat-like smile. “TI think I have done for you, young lady,” she thought to herself, “with all your rosy cheeks and big, gray eyes! A little maneuvering, and I shall bring Mr. Montagu Lacy to my feet, now that this dangerous rival is out of the way.” Mr. Lacy’s astonishment, the next day, on receiving Leslie's indignant message of “not at home,” was ex- treme. “What does it all mean?” he mut- tered. “I will see her, or—" And he sat himself resolutely down Nt “Never—never, upon my word!” on the front piazza, thus laying regu- fervently asseverated Miss Hender- son. And, if smiles were sunshine, Montagu Lacy’s homeward way lar siege to the unconscious Leslie— a line of tactics entirely different from anything Miss Henderson had would have been one illumination that evening, ! Five minutes afterward, Malvina entered the room where Leslie Brown was deluding herself with the idea that she was reading. “Leslie,” she said, earnestly, “I want your advice.” Miss Brown looked up, rather sur- prised, Although they were second consins, she was not particularly partial to Malvina, and she had rea- son to suppose that she herself was not a favorite with the fading passe brunette. “My advice, Malvina?” peated doubtfully. “Yes,” laughed and blushed Mal- vina, ‘‘about getting married. I am geing to confide in you, my dear. I have had an offer.” Leslie arched her fair brows, inno- cently, and Miss Henderson went cn, with a well-affected air of pretty con- fusion. “From—but you can never guess from whom, if you were to try for a hundred years. From Montagu Lacy.” / Leslie Brown grew pale, and then scarlet. “You must be mistaken, Malvina. He—" she re- supposed him likely to pursue. “Here I sit until midnight—or un- til she comes out!” he told himself. | . Presently she came, but not alone. ' Malvina Henderson was with her, f who was rather more discomfited ‘than Leslie at the sudden apparition | which confronted them, But he did not notice the elder of the two ladies fat all. “Leslie,” he exclaimed, reproach- i fully, but Leslie shrank back, color- ling violently. “Leslie, you have no ‘right to deny me an answer thus.” | “Do not call me ‘Leslie,’ ” she cried, indignantly. “Why should I not? scolded me for it before.” “You owe all your sweet words ‘and familiar expressions to this lady,” said Leslie, drawing back, and motioning to Malvina. \ “Do I?” sald Mr. Lacy, with rather a puzzled air.” “Well, I really wasn’t aware of it. Will you please, Miss Brown, to explain yourself?” Malvina felt as if her veins were filled with molten fire instead of blood; she would have given worlds to escape the explanations that she foresaw was coming. : Leslie caught from the dainty ruf- fled pocket of Miss Henderson’s silk You never And then she stopped. “Oh, I dare say,” said Malvina, a apron the note which had pierced her heart like a sword, and extended Her And Leslie Brown, whose self- | it to Mr. Lacy ere Malvina could snatch it back. : “This will be sufficient explana- tion,” she said, haughtily. “The man who can write such a letter as this to one woman, while he is making love to another, scarcely deserves the title of gentleman.” ] Mr. Lacy eyed the document with amazement. “I did write this letter,” said he; “but it was to no woman. It was written to Joe Thorneycroft.” But Malvina Henderson did not stay to await any further develop- ments. Murmuring some incoherent sentence about a forgotten engage- ment, she darted back into the house, and fifteen minutes afterward she had and Montagu stroll past the win- dows in all the radiant abstraction from the outer world that belongs, of right, to true lovers. For Cupid had befriended his own, and Malvina’s shallow plot had utter- ly failed in breaking two hearts.— New York Weekly, 0000000502000 20230002008¢ ® $ INDOOR EXERCISE FOR s § HEALTH AND DEVELOPHERT. 0 : oecoeces222002232020002000 Dr. W. R. C. Latson has something very interesting to say in The Outing Magazine regarding exercise. He di- vides the people in general into three classes: trained athlete, those who exercise at random, and those who neglect exercise altogether. In one place Dr. Latson says: “The 6rdinary ‘professor’ knows no more about the principles of bod- ily development than he does about ancient Coptic. And the poor lay- { man, groping to find some guide to a correct method of physical training, must necessarily fail to obtain from his desultory experiments any real or lasting benefit. “In the first place, current methods of physical culture aim at factitious results. The man is trained, not to develop a fine physique, powers of endurance, grace, and general bodily efficiency, but to win at some particu- lar event, “Of course the poor little people who exercise at random or who fall into the net of the wily ‘professor,’ get little or nothing for their time and money. : The men and women who write the articles or who prepare rule know but little, if anything, more about the matter than those who are held up for the price of the instruction. The result is failure to realize any great or lasting benefit from the time and effort put forth.” In conclusion, Dr. Latson describes a system of ten simple exercises which will result in an increase of health, strength, endurance, and bodily effi- ciency which will be a surprise and delight to the student. WORDS OF WISDOM. Some men wear themselves out, and others simply rust. Many a man makes a noise like a virtue to drown the clamor of his vices. Lots of us who are sure we are right never go ahead. The man who is blind to his own interests seldom interests any one else. The man who is too busy to make friends seldom succeeds. Even when charity begins at home, it usually ends with some foreign missionary. A plain duty is like a plain person. It is always.the least attractive. When they get on the scales is about the only time some men ever have their own weigh. The surest way to shatter an idol is to marry it. Blessed are the meek, for they gen- erally are married. The trouble with a bore is that when he gets wound up he doesn’t go. The ball player should always re- member that a hit in time saves nine: Some people are so lucky that if they should jump from the frying pan into the fire they would put the fire’ out.—From ‘“Dyspeptic Philoso- phy,” in the New York Times. Clean-Up Week. : It is interesting to note that, fol- lowing the worthy example of some smaller cities, it is proposed to have what may be termed a ‘clean-up week.” Anent this, the excellent ad- vice given from time to time by Dr. Neff, director of the department of public health, is full of good, practi- | cal suggestions regarding the best methods of sanitation, the removal of rubbish from cellars, the cleaning of dirt and dried leaves from drain pipes and roof gutters, the cleaning of dark and unsightly corners by some disinfectant wash and the ad- mission of sunshine to rooms ordinar- ily darkened and neglected, the proper care and cleansing of rugs, carpets, bedding and clothing and the draining of all stagnant pools of water in cellars and back yards.— Philadelphia Press. ~ the mortification of seeing Leslie} the material for the ‘courses’ as a! DANGER SIGNALS. Sick kidneys give unmistakable sig- nals of distress. Too frequent or scanty urinary passages, backache, headache and dizzy spells tell of disor- dered kidneys. Neg- lect of these warn- ings may prove fa- tal. Begin using Doan’s Kidney Pills. They cure sick kid- neys. Mrs. W. B. Conway, “Every Plc Tells B § Ww 117 Railroad St., ge) 3 ] 0 ra Punxsutawney, Pa., says: ‘I was in such poor health I could scarcely attend to my housework. My back ached as if it were being pulled apart, and my feet and ankles were badly ‘swollen. The kidney sedretions were in. terri- ble condition. I was extremely ner- vous and my heart palpitated violent- ly. Short use of Doan’s Kidney Pills relieved me and soon my whole sys- tem was renovated.” : Remember the name—Doan’s. For sale by all dealers. 50 cents a box. Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Corset Reflection. The wonderful endurance power of, women is evidenced again by the fact that a husky New York college man, who was rehearsing in a girl’s part in a play, fell in a fit and remained un- conscious for some time, and for no other reason than that he had been wearing a tightly laced corset for a couple of hours.—Topeka State Jour- nal. Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for Children teething, softens the gums, reducesinflamma- tion, allays pain, cures wind colic, 25c a bottle. —_— 23 Women As Motorists. ‘Unusual physique is not necessary for the woman motorist. Neither sex needs extraordinary muscular develop- ment in automobiling, and almost any woman not an invalid can master its mysteries quite as well as a man, pro- vided she has the will and the pa- tience to acquire the know-how. Cer- tainly in the sphere of patience woman by nature is equipped to give man a long handicap. The woman motorist is not half so likely as man is to swear and call loudly for a tow when anything goes wrong with the car. She will more probably set to work to find the trouble and remedy it quite as thoroughly as if she were cleaning out the kitchen range. Remember, never- theless, that, though sex and slight physique are in no sense disabilities to the woman who wants to do her own motoring, and though her femi- nine patience and intuition stand her in good stead, she must not expeet to Succeed by intuition alone.—Quting Magazine. Danger in Gold Mines. More than 2,000 prospectors are waiting on the Yukon banks for the clearing away of the ice fields to go down that Alaskan river to the new gold deposits discovered last fall. On the theory propounded by President Taft that the high cost of living is due to the increased output of gold, con- sumers may feel alarmed lest these new fields yield much more of the precious metal. But of course the prospectors are not troubled in that way.—Brooklyn Citizen. _—_ ESCAPES OPERATION WasCured byLydiaE.Pink- ham’sVegetable Compound Elwood, Ind.—* Your remedies have cured me and I have only taken six bottles of Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegeta ble Compound. I hardly stand the pains in my sides, IE ¢ ly ¢ one, and down my 4 : right leg. 1 began to feel better when I had taken only one bottle of Compound, but kept on as I was afraid to stop too soon.”’—Mrs. SADIE MULLEN, 2728 N. B. St., El- wood, Ind. Why will women take chances with an operation -or drag out a sickly, half-hearted existence, missing three- fourths of the joy of living, when they - can find health in Lydia XE. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound ? : For thirty years it has been the standard remedy for female ills, and has cured thousands of women who have been troubled with such ail- ments as displacements, inflammation, ulceration, fibroid tumors, irregulari- ties, periodic pains, backache, indiges- tion, and nervous prostration. If you have the slightest doubt that Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vege- table Compound will help you, write to Mrs. Pinkham at Lynn, Mass, for advice. Your letter will be absolutely confidential, and the advice free. $