The Porcelain Valentine. By Clarissa Mackie. Copyright, 11)08, by Clarissa Mnckle. MISS LEAFY BEAN stared lntp the Window of the sta tioner's shop, surveying the Ions lines of valentines tliot hung In festoons from end to end. There were nil sorts of valentines from the humblest penny post card, With Its crudely colored jilcture and amorous verse, to the huge affairs of satin and lace, with doves nnd cuplds and bleeding hearts painted thereon. Miss Leafy looked them over care fully. There was not one that would answer the purpose she bad In mind. She entered the shop and asked in a firm, rasping voice for what she was seeking. "Comic culontlnesV" repeated the clerk, with astonishment In his shecp llke eyes. "Yes, nin'nm of course, ma'am," and he drew a box from be neath the counter and displayed for Miss Leafy's Inspection a varied as sortment of hideous nnd coarsely col ored caricatures. If he expected to See the little old lady, shrink nt the sight of the lurid pictures he was dis appointed, for sho put on a pair of steel bowed xpectaclus and surveyed each one critically Indeed, one might Bay with the cyo of a connoisseur. "I will take this one," she said Anal ly, opening her slim purse. Then she hurried toward the door. SAs she passed through she met an other woman a little younger than her self. They exchanged still bows of recognition. Miss Leafy blushed a lit tle and clutched the envelope contain ing the comic valentine within the folds of her skirt i She stepped out along the quiet street toward the Old Ladies' home with prtraly stepping feet and a soft swing of her ample cashmere skirts. She wore a rusty velvet cape, with a high collar turned up around her withered chin, and she carried a large mink muff. Beneath the narrow brim of her small bonnet her nose shone very red with the cold, and the sting of the sharp wind brought the tears to her weak eyes. When she reached the home, which was a fine, Imposing structure set In handsome grounds, she turned Into the flagged path with renewed energy and was soon snugly ensconced In her own half of the room she shared with Ellen Drake. It was a large room, with polished floor and several largo win dows, two on the front nnd two on the side. The apartment was divided by an lm aginary line drawn diagonally from the door to the front corner, SHE SURVEYED EACH t g nffordlng . m CRITICALLY. each two windows and the use of the door. A rug placed In the center of each diagonal space, small Iron beds, dress ers, comfortable rockers and tables formed the furniture, while a large coal stove In the center of the room radiated warmth and cheer to every corner. Miss Leafy removed her bonnet and cape and hung them, together with the mink muff, within her tiny closet. Then she seated herself at the table and drew out the comic valentine she had just purchased. She adjusted her spectacles again and looked long and curiously at the picture. She did not smile or otherwise exhibit any evl- ence of, amusement. There was the light of an Indomitable purpose In her eyes and In the set of her thin lips. The picture portrayed a hideous wo man, with mincing gnlt, wearing an enormous bonnet,' from which hung multitudes of varicolored feathers and ribbons. Her dress was trimmed with buttons, buckles, fringes, bows and streamers, while about her shoulders was draped a lace shawl. She held a tiny parasol above her bedizened head." Beneath were lines of doggerel verse: Hold up your head, you think' you're o flnel - You are nothing but clothes; you haven't a mind! Tour silks are but cotton; your hat la a sham: You'j-e a smiling deceiver abroad In the land! Miss Leafy nodded her head approv ingly. "That's Ellen Drake to the life," she said slowly. "She thinks she's fine, and she expects every one else to think the same. She's a smil ing deceiver, for she pretends to be pleasant to every one, and she treats me like the dirt beneath her feet A-pretendlug that shawl is real lacel How comes It that Ellen Drake can wear lace shawls any more'n I can? I'll stick to It that mine Is real lace too. I ain't going to take no back seat for Ellen Drake If her pa was schoolteacher!" Here Miss Leafy ended her soliloquy, and, folding her hideous valentine to fit a long envelope, she inclosed it and sealed the flap. Then with a scratchy, pen dipped In rusty brown Ink she printed the letters of Ellen Drake's name. "There!" she ended triumphantly. "Ill Just drop that In the letter bos mt the corner so she'll get It the first thtag In the morning. After she learns what folks think of her inebbe sh won't hold up her bend quite bo hlghl' She nlllxed a stamp to llio missive, and, throwing a knllted H'.inwl about her thin shoulders, she hurried out to the corner of the street and posted the letter. Ellen Drake was lute. Slie ill I not return to the home tint il .lust as the occupants were Killing ('own to. their evening meal In thi mi. lieel ful d!:i lug room. Slu left her wnius 1 : the hall nml tool: her sent lcsll. Miss I .onl y wil it s grim nod th:it belled the pleas ant twinkle !n lief mild blue e;,-rn. She was a small, plump woman, with faded blond hnlr and a roun.l. rosy face uii.l smiling Hps thai disclosed rows of even white teeth These teeth were at once the envy II1K VAI.Kftit.iilC and despair of Miss Leafy Menu's heart Her own had gone long ago. and she was now reduced to it tooth less underjaw, while an 111 lining plate of obviously false teeth adorned the upper one. "Cold out, Ellen?" asked old Mrs. Brown from across the table. "Yes," "Veplled Mrs. Drake. "Its dreadful cold. Looks like snow." "Been buying valentines?" continued Mrs. Brown, with n snickering lant.li that was echoed down the table hi' diminishing eachlnnatlous. "Some," returned Mrs. Dralco spirit edly. "I always buy valentines. 1 be lieve in 'em!" "Believe In 'em! Valentines are only for young folks a-courtln'. and Mich." Jeered Mrs. Brown. "Valentines mean love," continued Ellen Drake . soberly, "and old folks want love Just as much as young ones do and a sight more, I'm thinking. ' It don't make no difference If you're a hundred years old, If you get a valen tine with hearts and posies on It and doves and flowers and a pretty verse to it It warms you all up, not quite the same as when you was sixteen, but al most!" She uttered a mellow laugh that warmed more than one of the fee ble, discontented old women gathered there. "That's so," assented Miss Piper Iri' her shrill treble. "I remember my first valentine." And so each one told a story about some valentine she had received In the old days some mes sage of n love that came so readily and all unsought In the golden old days. And as they told their stories withered cheeks reddened, faded eyes brightened and fretful voices took on softer cadences until, when they rose, there was a warmer unanimity of feel ing among them, and when they part ed for the night they strayed off In groups of twos nnd threes, still telling of the old days, the golden old days, when love was everything, when love was king. All save Mins Leafy. She had main tained a stony silence during the ten dor reminiscences that had arisen like a cloud of Incense about her, a cloud that hovered about, but did not encom pass her. She withdrew herself from it, Just as she withdrew from their playful question ing, with a grim shrug. She went to her room ulone and sat down on her side of the glowing heater, with her skirts turned back over her knees and her feet on the hearth; shestared through the crack of the stove door at the ruddy coals; In them she saw pic tures of the past. There were old days, but never golden days. She "I'VE OOT ONE JUST LIKE THAT." remembered bitterly that she hod al ways been small and lean and homely. She never had a valentine. She never had a lover. She never had married. She had cored for her parents, who had lived to a ripe old age, and when .they died she hnd sold the place nnd with the proceeds had purchased life long comfort In the home. Thnt had been her life always lonely, with a heart hungering for love and kindness, ' which, when offered, she could not rec ognize, but fought off with shy suspi cion ' v' When Ellen Drake arrived and was assigned to share a room with Miss Leafy the newcomer had sought by every art known to her genial little soul Jo win- Miss Leafy's regard. Per haps she might have done so had not an unfortunate thing happened. Mrs.. Drake "In unpacking her garments dis played to Miss Bean's admiring eyes a black lace shawl. ""It's real lace," said Ellen simply. "It belonged to my grandmother." Leafy Bean bit ber Up and looked with covetous eyes upon the real lace shawl She fingered its filmy texture, and then she said carelessly: Tve got one Just like that only mine's white. I'd show it to you, only It's In the bottom of my trunk. I'll get It out some (lay. Mine's real lace tOO." . :" . "I'd admire to see if saH'Ellen Drake heartily, and Leafy bad crept away to bed with a resentful heart and a very guilty conscience, for Leafy Bean never had a lace shawl In her Ufa ' p ffi r V l- A1I the year that followed Ellen Drake's arrival at the home Leafy Bean had maintained a frigid demean or toward that lady. This was harder to understand, because the women oc cupied 1he same apartment and a mors mi ! I rateable relation would have resulted lit much happlnesH to lioth of thcui. It Is true that Ellon Drake strove for this, but after anlille she tiled of re peated rebuffs, and so day after day the women would sit on oppusl e skies of the pleasant room In perfect lOleme. Sometimes one or the ether would have visitors or they would meet l:i the living room downstairs, but i!i:,rc whs generally silence between ll.eui. or, at best, a veiled hostlllly. Because Ellen Drake tlrt;;id V':i fully from the remnants f a oie.e well stocked wardrobe Leafy Peaii hid nurtured a bitter Jealousy which cul minated In the purchase of the hid eous valentine. And now Leafy was thinking how,- the tlrst thing In the morning, Ellon would rcelvo the val rntlne. Perhaps she would not toss her head and flaunt her finery In the face of Just then the door opened, and Ellen Drake came in. She drew a rocking chair close to the stove nnd sat there for a few moments lu tllcuce; then, with a visible effort, she said in a con ciliatory tone: "Leafy Bean!" "Well!" snld Miss Bean Hourly. "I got a valentine today," pursued Ellen, with, some hesitation. Miss Leafy swallowed hard. "Al ready!" she uttered; then she bit her lip In vexation. "Well," continued Mrs. Drake slow ly, "It's this way, Leafy: It's not a reg ular valentine. It was a letter from n lawyer saying thnt my fourth cousin, old Abe Harmon, had died out west somewhere and left me $500. So 1 call It a valentine," she ended, with a quiet laugh. Miss Leafy snorted bitterly. "You can buy lots of clothes with $500," she said, with firm emphasis. "Oh, I nln't quite so dressy us that Leafy," laughed Mrs. Drake good na turedly. "What I want to say is that I've got nn Idea" She hesitated again as though in doubt as to the reception of ber Idea by her taciturn room mate. That lady was lost In a painful reverie. It was only another evi dence of the ln- Justice of fate rnat rciien Drake, the possessor of a real lace shawl, should become an heiress. Leafy was glad she had sent the valen tine. "I was think "OF COURSE I llEAIf IT." ing, Leafy," pursued Ellen Drake, "that maybe you'd like to get some teeth of that new dentist He puts in porcelain teeth Just like mine for $40, and I was thluklug you might as well use some of my money and have the teeth now. I nln't got any particular use for the money, and you can pay It back from your knitting a llltlo nt a time." There was silence. Mrs. Drake leaned back In her chnlr as If glad the announcement was out and prepared for a stormy reception of her proposal. Miss Leafy stared hard through the crack in tb? slove door. Tho coals glowed redlv, then they changed to n ruddy blur, nnd there was a sharp sting behind her little brown eyes. Presently she spoke, nnd her sharp voice sunk to a quaver as she asked: "Do you meun, Ellen Drake, that you're offering to lend me some of your $500 so I can have porcelain teeth like yours?" "Of course I menu It," sold Ellen heartily, "and, w lint's more, I'm going to use some of that $500 to have a good time with before I die. We'll go to concerts' " "We?" murmured Miss Leafy, nghnst. "Of course, you and mo, and per hops we'll ask some of tho others, too, nnd mnybe we'll have doings In our room some . evening. Oh, I'm going to take a sight of comfort wth Cousin Abel's valentine!" And she laughed a cheery littlo laugh thnt seemed to open up some long choked spring In Miss Leafy's bosom, for she burst Into bitter sobbing nnd flung her hands before her little homely face. "Leafy Bean! I do declare! What ever is the matter? Crying becnuse you're going to have new teeth?" " 'Taln't so," sniffed Lcnfy. "I'm t ry ing because I'm n liar!" "A a what?" gasped Ellen Drake. "I'm a liar and much worse!" re peated Leafy, with stern emphasis. "Ellen Drnke, when snld I hnd a lnce shawl like yours I wns lying. 1 never had one, and It wasn't real lace!" ' "For the land's sake! Well what of It? They're out of style anyway." "I'm worse than a liar," repeated Leafy gloomily. "I sent you a funny valentine through the mail. Now, I guess, you won't ' r. . offer me no teeth," she said, with a defiant smile. ;''' Ellen Drake stared. Then she threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, Leafy Bean, did you send me a f n n n y T valen tine?" she chuc kled. ;"I am glad," she con tinued merrily, "because, you I GOT A PORCELAIN VALENTINE." ' see, it will make a lot of fun. They will all laugh, and it will do them a sight of good, and It won't hurt me a mite. Well, (t's all right now, Leafy. And you'll go tomorrow and see the dentist about your teeth?" .' Leafy Bean laughed shamefacedly. "I expect I got what you'd call a porcelain valentine," she said. I T F Wi P 4S vA 0 HE OBEYED ORDERS. A Young Recrult'a Rapid Rise to Title and Power. One day a young recruit was stand ing guard before the door of the en-, trance to Peter the Ureat's private chambers In the palace of St. Peters burg. He had received orders to ad mit uo one. , As he was passing slowly up and down before the door Prince Meuschi koff, the favorite minister of the czar, approached and attempted to enter. He was stopped by the recruit. The prince, who had the fullest lib erty of calling upon his master at any time, sought to push the guard and pass him. Yet the young man would not move, but ordered. bis highness to stand back. ' "You Idiot!" shouted the prince. "Don't you know me? You'll be pun ished for this!'1 The recruit smiled and said: "Very well, your highness, but my orders are peremptory to let nobody pass." .The prince, exasperated at the fel low's impudence, struck blm a blow In the face with his riding whip. "Strike away, your highness," said the soldier, "but 1 cannot let you go in." Peter, in the room, hearing the noise outside, opened the door and inquired what it meant, and the prince told him. The czar appeared amused, but salil nothing nt the time. In the evening, however, he sent for the prince nnd the soldier. As tbey both nppenred Peter gave his own cane to the soldier, saying: "Thnt man Btruck you In the morn ing. Now you must return the blow to that fellow with my stick." The prince was amazed. "Your maj esty," he snld, "this common soldier is to strike me?" "I make hlra a captain," said Peter. "But I'm an officer of your majes ty's household," objected the prince. "I make htm a colonel of my life guards and an officer of the house hold," said Peter again. "My rank, your majesty . knows, is that of general," again protested Men scblkoff. "Then I make blm a general, so that the beating you get may come from a man of your rank." - The prince got a sound thrashing In the presence of the czar, and the re cruit, who wns next day commissioned a general with a tide, was the founder of a powerful family whose descend ants are still high In the Imperial serv Ice of Russia. SIMPSON'S PLUCK. An Inventor's Weary but Successful Fight Against Great Odds. Charles Goodyear Is not tne only In ventor who might turn his face to the wall to die saying of the tardy recog nition of his efforts, "I tile hnppy others can get rich." Goodyear's efforts to Introduce the use of vulcanized rubber were no more tragic than the stories of a dozen othpr Inventors. There was a man named Simpson In Missouri who discovered that gutta percha was a nonconductor of electricity. He borrowed money of one Amos Kendall to make his appli cation for a patent. It was rejected over and over, rich companies fighting his claim. But he had "sand;" he never weakened. It was Just after the civil war that he made his last fight, ne had no money not a dollar but lie started from St.. Louis for Washington afoot. ' ' He would not beg. but made his way half across the contjiient- by sawing wood, hoeing corn or doing any work thnt come to hand. In one place he robbed a scarecrow of a pair of pant and a bat, lenvlng his own more rag ged garments In their place. In Pitts burg he hnd to work As a truck driver till bo could enrn enough to repair his shoes nnd take him on bis way. And nil tho time he believed stubbornly In himself nnd In his Invenllon. His own words were: "When I enme over the tops of the Alleghenles I saw the sun rising, and I knelt down and thanked God for my life and nskrd him to let me get my patent He promised me on the spot, and I never hnd a moment's doubt after tbot." ; ' Arriving In Wrshlngton. he got a living as a day laborer on the stone foundation' of the patent office, and from that vantapo ground he fought his claim through the office and the courts nnd got his patent. The West ern Union Telegraph company gave him $100,000 down for. the privilege of using It. Exchange. " ' . ' -' . ' ' Odd Cures For Rheumatism. Cures for rheumatism are almost as old as the complaint Itself. - In the - midland counties of England It was : formerly considered that the " right forefoot of a hare, worn constantly In . thepocket. was- an amulet against '. rheumatism, while the Dutch peas antry still cherish a belief in tne pres ervative virtues iof a borrowed or stolen potato. Stranger than these, however, was the remedy discovered by a servant girl at the village of Stanton, In the Cotswolds, who con trived to be confirmed three times. In the belief that confirmation was an nfailing cure' for Woumntlsra. "- The Cowcatcher. While the visitor told bow he had ! ridden thirty thrilling miles on the cowcatcher of a locomotive five-year- ! old Lorftla listened attentively. As be concluded she asked.' "Did " yoli catctrtbe cow, Mr. Blank?" Chicago News.' Where there Is much pretension much has been borrowed. Nature sever pretends. Lavater. THE WORD "ALPHABET." It Comes Through the Greeks and He brews From Phoenicia. When we speak of our A B C's ns our "alphabet" we are using a word honry with oge, that, as far back us we can trace It, came from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sen, thou sands of yenrs before the Hebrew's went up' there nnd took possession of the Innd of Cnnnnn. Back of the peo ple who occupied that Innd before the events of Exodus were written we are not nble to truce the word, for we hnve not sufllclent knowledge of them or of their etymological history before we find them In Canaan. It has been only within recent years thnt we have been able to know tha the word "alphabet" came to us from the Phoenicians. Before that we sup posed that It came to us from the He brews, through the Greek. As we say "A B C" the Greeks say "alpha beta" (the first two letters of their alphabet), which when II reached us became "al phabet." This we supposed had come to the Greeks from the Hebrews, who colled their flirt two letters "nlph" and "beth." but tiiii e then we hive found that both the Greeks and the Hebrews got the word ''alphabet" from the same source, which was the Phoenicians. The people of Phoenicia bad the same letters, "alph" and "beth." which hnve rtiflVrnl but little chnnge In Round dcwti to our A nnd B. Alph mennt slmpty nn ox. the sign of It being a conventional ox's head, with the lower part of the face turned slightly to Its right, nnd beth mennt n house, which wns pictured by the rude outline of n primitive dwelling, which hnd n superfluous line added to dis tlmrt !i !i It from other chnrncters very I1V. t li, ns we place a tall on a Q to distinguish It from nn O. So the first two letters of our A B C's were oris liinlly nn ox -and a house and gave the name of nil of the twenty-six let ters which we coll our "alphobet" New York Herald. Kissing the Book. "Kissing the book" Is a rather late development of the mere touching of the gospels with the fingers, which dates from the sixth century. It Is likely that the kiss was originally In tended not to Increase the solemnity of the oath, but to signify reverence and affection for the book. The kiss ap pears to have come Into fashion to ward the end of the sixteenth century and would seem, from what George Fox says of It, to hnve been a Protes tant Innovation. According to him, the unreformed method was simply to hold the gospels with three fingers above the book, typifying the Trinity, and two fingers below, typifying the twofold destruction of body nnd soul thnt nn onth taker Invoked upon him self if he swore falsely. Politics and Poker. A mnn who dips into politics own sionnlly vtnny be compared to a mini who engages In a poker game occa sionally. He Is liable to run Into a professional and be worsted. The safe rule Is to keep out of politics and poker. Atchison Globe. She Threw Him Over Twice. "Why have you thrown over Mr. Pltcoe?" "Ob, I could never marry a man with a crooked leg." "What made his leg crooked?" "I ran over It with my motor car." Snccess Magazine. Florists' Stand FINE EASTER FLOWERS Open Thursday, April 1st, in the display window of Strauss Bros.' Music Store, on Main Street. Complete assortment ol Potted Plants, Cut Flowers, Lillies and Decorative Plants of all kinds. Come in and ce the exhibit and brighten your home for Easter, Well, Did You See That BEE-LINE At Robinson & Mundorff s Well, if you have not, it will not cost you any thing to have a look, so just step in and look around. Of course, we sell bee supplies and try to keep a complete line of "Root's" goods on hand. This month we are going to give our customers the benefit of a SPECIAL DISCOUNT, so we would appreciate your order at us early a date as possi bleVi - . Rea Bee & Honey Co. TO THE FARMERS GENTLEMEN: - v We have bought our seeds this spring from the Albert. Dickinson Co., of Chicago, an old reliable firm, and hand ling their Ace Brand, OF CLOVER SEED the best recleaned on the market. We can recommend it and will stand over it and invite you to call and examine it before buying. $6.75 per bushel and we will put it up against any thing on the market. Faithfully yours, ReunoidsviiiG Hardware Go. . We have more than 100 Rugs to' chopse from. " r- $15.00 Go-Carts at $12.00. Call in and see our large assortment of Brass and Iron Beds. J. R.HILLIS & C0.'S MONEY SAVING SALE Of Furniture AndCarpots Commencing March 1st
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