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THE OBSERVER AND S TAR. DRYDEN, ONTARIO 000000000000000000000000 THE CLOSED GENTIAN A Flower That Played a Part In a Love Episode. 000000000000000000000000CO 0000000000000000000000000 By VIRGINIA LEILA WENTZ. 00000000000000000000000000 The serious business of settling up ber brother's estate was about finished. Miss Morton leaned wearily back in her invalid's chair and sighed. After all, she was sorry. Doubtless it would mean a cessation of her lawyer's fre- quent and periodic visits, and--well, he had been something new under her sun. "I leave for Bar Harbor tomorrow, to be gone a week. On my return I'll send you a telegram and arrange for our final interview." Howell Orchard's crisp, staccato sentences punctured ber reverie. He was picking up his gloves. A high cart had just driven under the porte cochere, and Miss Morton's liv- eried groom was busy quieting the an- tics of a pair of brown cobs. Miss Morton groped for a pretext to spin out the call of her lawyer, if only for five minutes. It was stupid of Pe- ter to have driven up so early, and so bourgeois! Her eye fell on the nearest object, a bowl of orchids. "Exquisite, are they not?" she said. with a slight indicating motion of her patrician, blue veined hand. Orchard's keen glance noted them, at the same time ranging the extravagant refine- ment of the room. "In keeping with their surroundings. Miss Morton," he rejoined, pulling on his left hand glove; "artistically cor- rect." She made no further pretext. It was Fatuous, but it answered her purpose. "What is your favorite flower?' she nsked. It was an inane question, and she bit her lip; but, to her relieved surprise, Orchard gave her Taquiry his consid- eration. "The closed gontidn." he said after a slight pause. * * * * * : > 'Wynchell, Miss Morton's eountry home, with fits ancestral acres, was about far enough from Jersey City to leave time on the suburban train for a comfortable perusal of the paper and a yawn or two besides. Orchard spread out his sheet mechanically. But even the stock market news didn't seem to interest him; and he looked far beyond his paper. That was only natural. He was looking back through several sea- sons of blossoms and snow, this man, who, young as he was, had already be- Bun to be called a woman hater. whizzing telegraph wires and poles passed unseen. The noise of the en- gine, the rumble of the wheels, dwin- dled into silénce. In their stead came the low, exquisite voice of a girl: "It's such a beautiful little Bower in- side, Howell"-- The day had beer full of late Sop tember elixir, then as now. The tread of loveliness had been on the fields of grass and fodder ripened by August suns and tanned by early frosts to an nutumnal bronze. Somewhere from pmong the hedges of sumac had come the call of a quail. Then presently the girl had stopped near a silvery stream and plucked a plain enough looking lark blue flower and binned it on his toat. "It's a closed gentian, you know, fear," she had explained, while the Boft tendrils of her hair had uncon- sciously brushed his strong chin. "You see," she went on, stooping to pluck another, 'they're not so very handsome putside, but inside--look!" Delicately 18 a spring zephyr she had pricked he portals open. "It puts the flaming roldenrod and all the staring purple laisies here to shame, doesn't it?' She ifted her face to bim--the face of a irl not particularly beautiful, but glo- ified by a dazzling smile. He had left her at the gate of her ittle western home and, leaning over he rustic fence in the privacy of the road oak, had bid her goodby, for he vas golng to the big eastern metropo- is for a year or two to win fame and ortune for them both. He went away vith the sweetness of her kiss upon Is lps, her tear upon his cheek, her ower in "his coat. Later there had come a misunder- tanding, of the slight, insignificant ort that most young lovers have; but, las, in this 'case before the gentle, ealing wind of the real truth had lown tragedy had visited the girl's ome, and when the man sought her he was not to be found. Out in her ttle western village people told a tale E her father's long illness and death-- ow she had nursed him night and day ith untiring tenderness; how, their' ight income being exhausted, she had ken up water color work and filled 'ders for dinner cards and little pic- ires; how finally, upon his death, she 1d gone to New York city to earn her ving in such fashion as she could. That was all Orchard had been able learn, and that had been two years x0. To find a girl who does water col- work or dinner cards in New York ty is not 'an easy matter. By the me his traln had reached the smoke 'the tunnel the man with the unread per was thoroughly out of conceit ith Emily; by the time the ferryboat 1d bumped into the slip on the' New ork glde he was thoroughly out of ncelt with himself. : J CH L * ® Miss Morton brought her Yorzmon ta ; ar npon the flowers Miss dic bad st brought in. The | "So they are what you call clozed gentians?" questioned she halt incred- ulously. 'Are you sure?" "I--=I'm very sure, Miss Morton." The girl's voice was exquisitely low and musical. "But they're so homely, so nnfinished looking, and 1 thought--well, never mind. Arrange them there in that vase, if yon will. My lawyer, a young fel- low in whom I've taken a great inter- est, is coming up to Wynchell today, and they are his favorite lower." - Miss Gray lost the last of the sen- tence. Irom the silver faucet in Miss Morton's marble bathtub she was drawing water for the cut glass she held., Besides, Miss Morton had spo- ken more than half to herself. It had been only three days now that Miss Gray had been with her in the capacity: of companion, and already Miss Morton found herself exchanging that young person's status from com- panion to confidante. She had always had a liking for her, this girl with the tired, pale face and the sweet, sudden smile, ever since the day when she had come personally to explain that there had been some little mistake in the ordered dinner cards and to make her apologies. It appears she had giv- en the dinner ladies powdered silver hair instead of dazzling gold. That had been at the beginning of last sea- son. During the present summer the little sketches that she had been able to sell hadn't proved sufficient for her to eke out eves a modest existence with. Miss Morton was looking for a companion; and she had offered her services. That is the way it had all come about. There was the rhythmic thud, thud, of horses' hoofs on macadam, and Miss Morton's brown cobs whirled through an iron gate into a modest drive and came to an abrupt halt under her porte cochere. A gray drizzle had set in, but what did that matter to How- ard Orchard? The tine drops of rain driven against his face by the pace of the cobs had been an exhilarating de- light to him, and as Miss Morton was wheeled into the library to greet him he was positively cordial. Miss Morton had forgotten her lor- gnon. Being very shortsighted, she was at a loss to know exactly 'where her companion had placed the gen- tians. And, above all things, should 'the sight of the flowers bring an ap- preciable fraction of pleasure into Or- chard's immobile face she didn't want chard's immobile face she didn't want to lose the sight. She rang for a maid. "Ask Miss Gray to fetch me my lorgnon," said she. "So you remembered!" The exclama- tion came from Orchard, and Miss Mor- ton lost the sight she had wished for, after all. He bad crossed to an ebony cabinet on top of which stood the cut glass vase. "Awkward things to ar- range in vases, though, he coimnmented laconically, as it regretting his burst of emotion. "Yes, that's what my companion said. ~Bhe went out willingly ~enough in all this drizzle to pluck them, but she shied at arranging them in a vase. She assures me they belong to the fields, and"-- But Orchard veered quickly around. In the mirror back of the ebony cabi- net he'd caught the reflection of a giri's face. Before he had seen her face, though, he had recognized her. There was' no other woman he knew who held her head so proudly and at the Same time had that wavering little walk so at variance with the Queenly carriage of her head. ; "Emily!" he cried. "You!" The girl's hand which held the lor- gnon clutched it tightly and went up to her breast. The other half groped to- ward him, as with a little incredulous cry she repeated the one word, "You!" * * * * ® Ee * 'Too bad, too bad," murmured kind hearted. Miss Morton indulgently to herself that evening, laying down her Goethe unread. The day had cleared beautifully. The last scrap of estate settling business had been attended to, and now her lawyer and her compan- ion were enjoying a bit of the mellow harvest moon out on the back veranda. "Too bad! I was just beginning to congratulate myself on what a treasure Miss Gray would be in my declining years, and now--the end of the begin- ning or the beginning of the end. Ma- rie," she said, turning to the maid, "take those homely blue flowers away. Take them up to Miss Gray's room." ! 3 Marquis Komura's House. The late Marquis Komura was fae mous for his bohemian habits. He had little thought for his personal comfort. Not till the conclusion of the Anglo- Japanese alliance did he possess a resi» dence of his own. But when he was given a large sum of money by the em- peror after the consummation of the alliance he had a new residence built at Haramachi. Never once during the time after it was built did he visit hig new property. He lived exclusively in the official residence, going to the im- perial hotel for his meals. One even- ing, however, he took a long walk, in the course of which he fancied he would make a visit to his new resi- dence. He walked about Haramachi in quest of his new house, but could not find it until he inquired at a police box.-- Yokohama Heraid. Siam's Plowing Festival. The plowing ceremony of Siam is a very imposing public function, I'he king of Siam is represented by the minister ot agricuiture, who, escorted: with native music and much beating of drums, proceeds to the plowing field, where sacred scriptures are chanted and mystic rites are performs. ed. . The oxen, decorated with gar. lands, are yoked to the plow, the first | furrow is opened, and rice 1s gown, Modern plows are. Su being intro. diced, building of the house nor for a long | HOW BANGS WON A BET. Was It Any Wonder Davis Wouldn' Pay It? John Kendrick Bangs tells this story of an attempt he made to get the bet- ter of Richard Harding Davis: "Davis and 1 were talking one day of his Van Bibber stories, and inci- dentally | asked him how long it had taken him to write them. * 'Oh, about ten days each,' he re- plied. *l ventured to express the opinion that such a story could well be writ- ten in a couple of hours, and the re- sult was that we made a bet of a din- ner based on my ability to write a story similar in style to the Van Bib- bers and to have it accepted by a New York editor. "When I reached my home in Yon- kers that night 1 wrote the story. the work occupying the time from 8 until 10 o'clock. At 10 the next morning I reached my office in Franklin square. At 10:30 1 submitted my story to my- self. By 10:45 I had read it, my warm regard for the author leading me to expedite the matter as much as pos- sible. At 11 o'clock I accepted the manuscript, and at 11:15 T drew an or- der on the cashier for $100 in payment, which 1 at once cashed. Then I went out to find Davis. Meeting him, I told him of what I had done, detailing the various steps. and at the end held out transaction really had been consum- mated. "Davis looked .at me, then at the bills. Well, 1 said, iAehat of that dinner, | Davis? : " 'Huh,' grunted Davis, 'if you have all that money you can afford to buy your own dinner.' "--New York Post. Surprised the Postman. It was the day after Christmas, and the hard working postman plowed his way through snow and a cold wind, a sack of unusual size on his back, He ascended the spacious steps of a west end residence, and in answer to his ring a manservant in rich livery appeared. "Wait a moment, please," said the servant as he took the letters. "The mistress wishes to speak to you." The postman's eyes brightened. It was the holiday season. Now, no deubt in recognition of his regular and faith: ful-- « " : beam 1 mon be $120.7 be said politely, "to await your mistress' pleasure." In a few minutes the lady appeared. "Are you," she asked, "our regular postman?' "Yes, madam," he answered, bowing. "Do you come in the morning?' "Yes, madam." "And in the afternoon and evening?" Again he assented, smiling eagerly. Then the lady said: "Well, was it you who broke our bell?"--London Ideas. Ett . 'As We Also Know. The schoolteacher was giving her small pupils an instructive talk. "Now, children, all the clothes you have on were made out of wool, and that wool was once on the backs of the little lambs." Then she passed on 0 other subjects. To finish her lesson she returned to her first talk and asked questions of her-small charges. "Now, Mildred." she said, "what is your coat made of?' = "It made out of Sister Alice's coat that she wore. last year," replied the little girl = earnestly. -- Indianapolis News. r Sx Wise Little Willie. Little Willie was playing one day with the girl next door when the lat- ter exclaimed: 'Don't you hear your mother calling you? That's three times she's done it. Aren't you going in? Won't she whip you?" "Naw!" exclaimed Willie in disgust. "She ain't goin' to whip nobody. She's got company. 'So when I go in she'll just say, been so deaf since he's had the mea- sles.' "--Stray Stories. en. Billy Is a Sport. First Chorus Girl--Charley buys wine like a Wall street millionaire. Second Chorus Girl--Pshaw! buys wine like a ten dollar a week bank cler k.--New York Telegraph. Billy An Aorta ine Tradition. "Do you think leap year gives a wo- man any especial privileges?" "No," answered Mr. Groucher, *It's merely a warning to a man to be op his guard."--Washington Star. Leap Year, ie Lia She-- Will you marry me? He--You will have to ask father first, : She--I did; but he refused me,~ Judge, i aii Seb imitans Reply In Kind, at you had a leap year proposal from '& pretty ghl what would you do?" "I'd jump at it.""--Baltimors Ameri can. : in my hand the cash to prove that the Far Soy "ba slipped beneath cords 'The poor little man has | THE VERY LATEST. Milady's Necktie Reaches to 'the Waist Now. THE SPRING FANCY IN NECKTIES. Neckties have been growing longer and longer, and now the really smart bow has ends to the waist. Sometimes these ends pass through buttonholed slits in the waists, as illlustrated here, or other ornaments. Concerning Women. A bachelor who died a tew days ago at Frankfort, Germany, left an endow- ment for a unique annual prize. This prize of $125 is to be given to the man who weds the ugliest woman. If the woman is lame as well as ugly the bridegroom will receive an additional $125. Miss Margaret V. Kelly is Uncle Sam's highest paid woman official. She gets $3,000 a year. She is assistant director of the mint. Actually the sec- retary of the treasury has little to do with our coin. Miss Kelly attends to that. There are but four persons be- tween her and the secretary of the treasury, and in their absence she runs things. Really. she does that anyway every day in the year. The Toothbrush league of Baltimore Is said to have been thought out and grganized by two trained nurses when the playgrounds were opened at the be- ginning of the season. The object is to encourage children in the care of their teeth. The members at present number 1,000. They have all been taught how to use their toothbrushes and have entered a contest for the best kept teeth. Prizes will be awarded in each branch of the league. Lady Duff Gordon says that the Pari- sgienne is losing all her taste and style and that English women dress very much better. She says that a, man in Paris has invented a sort of funnel at- fair that is on the order of the crino- line, and there is no telling to what ex- tremes Paris women may go before the end of the -present winter. English women are said to disdain the idea of crinoline, but no doubt its appearance in Paris would soon be followed by its adoption by both English and Amer- ican women. Four Dozen Roses on Her Spring Hat. This chic little spring hat is a Pa- risian model evolved from dark blue hemp, with a draped crown of velvet MILLINERY NOVELTY FROM PARIS, from which 'rises a high wired bow. Around the crown goes a wreath of small silk roses in shades of mauve, pink, gray and American Beauty color, In Case of Accidents. Burns and Scalds.--Cover with cook- Ing soda and lay wet cloths over it, whites of eggs and olive oil. Mad Dog or Snake Bites.--Tie cord tight above wound, suck wound and cauterize at once or cut out with sharp knife. : oa Venomous Insect Stings, etc.--Apply weak ammonia oil, salt water or jo- dine, Fainting. ~Place fiat on back, allow fresh air, sprinkle with water. Cinders In the Eye.--Roll soft paper up like lamp lighter and wet the Hp 10 remove: rub We other eye, Vivid Tints and Lace, : The newest note is the use of vivid colors in embroidery, Lace continues to be used on everything in every style and peight and every known deslgn, EET ma a Keep. Brasses Dry, Dampness. will soou tarnish Lien articles, But if they are kept in a ary and coo place they will remain vntar: Bisned for a tong Ime \ the meaning of a i fallen from grace was about to be tried | to be dropped into the eye three times ! Everybody' s Magazine. J .} the sheep knocked you down?" LIFE'S PROBLEM. | OR vears old and unmarried, lonely and weary of life, The plans of a iifetime miscarried, 1 determined to get me a wife. But first, being world wise and wary, I thought that I'd find out the cost. 'Would a paltry three thousand keep Mary, Or should we be stranded and lost? I'd ask John--he'd married a beauty-- And Tom--he was tied to a queen-- And Bob, who had felt it his duty > To wed a sweet chit of sixteen. 2 John sighed as he answered my question, "Stocks down, business awful, but still The sale of my gold mine In Preston, Thank God, paid the. milliner's bill!" Vi \ Tom's face was deep lined, worn by sore TOW; His clothes out of date and threadbare. "The missus? She's sailing tomorrow." He'd mortgaged the home for her fare. Bob, debonair, happy, light-hearted, Replied, with an ominous frown, "With my very last cent I've just parted To pay for my wife's Paris gown.' Ah, me! There's the rain on the shingle, And my rooms seem deserted and drear, Still I'd rather be lonely and single Than starve on thr ee thousand a year. 4 --Life. ; No Doubt at All. The ability ot a juror to understand 'reasonable doubt" in regard to the guilt ot a person on trial on a criminal charge and a wills ingness to "give the accused the bene- fit of a doubt," should it exist, are qualifications always required by crim inal lawyers in the examination ot jurors, and lack ot either qualification results in a challenge. It is seldom,' however, that a prospective juror will frankly admit prejudice or inability to give a fair trial. A former negro preacher who had on a charge of chicken stealing, ac- cording to Judge Hugh Smith of the 'Wyandotte court ot common pleas, and a member ot the former congregation of the accused was called as a juror. The attorney for the defense explained the meaning of a plain doubt and a reasonable doubt and then demanded: "If, after all the testimony has been heard, there remains any reason to be- lieve that this defendant might not be guilty will you give him the benefit of the doubt?" : 3 "Yer honor," replied the prospective juror, looking disapprovingly at his former guide of the flock and then di- recting his reply to the judge, "by the time 1 has heard halt the testimony, in this case there ain't goin' to be no doubt." He was not required to serve as a juror.--St. Paul Pioneer Press. Putting the Brake On. 3 Don't ask a man to help you if. you want him to show his great- § est speed.--Atchison Globe. : s >@ WV hd The Limit. "1 thought that in the fifteen years of my practice ot medicine," said a physician, "1 had answered almost ev- ery possible 'fool' question, but a new one was sprung on me recently. A young man came in with an inflamed eye, for which i prescribed medicine-- a day. . "He left the office, but returned in a few minutes, poked his head in the doorway and asked, 'Shall 'l drop this in the eye before meals or after? Ve Busy All the Time, Little Howard eame in the other day crying and rubbing several bumps, caused by a series of butts adminis. tered by a pet sheep. "Well, Howard," said his sympa: thetic auntie, "what did you do when "I didn't do anything. I was gots ting up all the time." -- National Monthly. ! Plenty of Time. fs not a fairy story at all, Points For: Mothers Oil Bath For Baby. This story begins like a fairy tale. It but a plain statement of a very important subject --the oil bath for a delicate child. Once upon a time there was born a tiny baby. At birth this little mite of humanity weighed less than five pounds, and the physician, nurse and parents all de- spaired of her life. The child's mother was a frail, dell. cate little woman, who. after a few weeks; was forced to stop norsing her '| infant daughter. It was only by the most infinite care that baby's life wus saved when this calamity befell her. Pure fresh cow's milk was modified and pasteurized. and by a careful study of proportions a food at last found that agreed with the little one. Even then much ditiiculty was en- countered trying to get the baby to feed from a nursing bottle, and the troubles of mother and nurse were many. Baby lost weight, not much, but a gradual decrease was noticed until one week showed a loss of one and a lenit ounces. ~ It was while the mother was bathing her tiny baby one morning that an oid colored woman who had nursed the mother and grandmother before her came in to see the new arrival in the family. It only took a minute for old *"Mam- my Harriet" to see the condition of the child. Raising botb hands to her head, she said: "Land. boney, you must ruo dat chile wif goose grease if you wants her to live! Yes, ma'am, rub her all over wif nice warm goose grease an' git some fat on her pore little bones." Old Mammy Harriet then went on ta tell how one of her little charges had been. very near. the borderland of heav- en when she had started to rub the child with goose fat or mutton tallow every day, and how it had waxed fat and strong as a result of the treatment. The little mother thought it no harm te try, but instead of using animal fat she warmed a tablespoonful of olive oil and bathed the baby's body all over with it just before the little one wag put to bed. A few days showed a marked change, regained the lost ounce and a Physicians agree that the o excellent for delicate child When the child is very pun; with warm water, using soap. A lath- er of soap removes the naturat oils from the skin, thus decreasing the tats of the body. ~ Cleanse all baby's body with warm water and @& little pure soap, but give a sponge bath: of clear tepid water over the rest off the body. At bedtime give baby a thorough rubbing with pure warm olive oil. This is a good rule to follow when older children are recovering from an illness, are suffering from puimenary troubles or are anaemic. An oil bath taken daily will put flesh on a person as nothing else will do. Try it for your delicate child. AR : The Baby's Pen. In such a device a mother may place her little one, with its toys, and the chilé will be quite content for hours at a time; while the mother is saved wor- ry and anxiety by -knowing that her baby is safe. Have you ever noticed an older per- son walking on the street pulling a child along by the arm? Have you stopped to remark on the way in which the little arm is held, so high that the child's whole weight is resting on the shoulder muscle which connects the arm to it? the groups 'who help children along in that way. If you are just stop to think of what you are doing. The strain put on that young aly and at the end of the week she had. mistake to bathe the body every day' soiled portions of the Or perhaps you are one of Mistress--Jane, have you given the goldfish fresh water? Jane--No, mum, They 'aven't drunl up what's there yet.--Black and White Roequiescat! "There goes that poor old Joke," ra. marked Mr, Paragraph, "He's on hig way to his last resting place." "Mercy!" exclaimed Mr, "Where's he going?" "Into a theater program,'--Satire, Seb ODEO L ON DDD AL VOY 28 20 WS © . CL @® > Moderation Enjeined, ® It's all right to save money, $ ¢ C Verse, 4 but don't squeeze it, HO OGEOE S&P NY VN NN NC vy. VN Not Much Danger, Bhe--Bome men are killed by kind- ness, Ea) He-Yes, about one in every. ten bil. llon,~~Cincinnati Eriiren Football I Germany, Michael (to his witei--Come away, wife, or else they will want us after- ward ag witnesses, --Fliegende Blatter.' | much more tender than is your own | arm, for instance, is enough to cause the muscle to give way. No child should be hurried along. He knows Just how fast he can walk, and it is only harmful to force or to drag him. Lifting him by the arm or arms in such a way might result in permanent in- Jury. Here is another suggestion to save the young muscles from overdoing; A child should never be allowed to lift or to carry anything which he cannot raise with the greatest ease. Such straining has been known to result in injury that undermined the health for a lifetime, "Baby Bunting" Sleeping Garment, Now that the healthful habit ot sleep- Ing out of doors has become so general that even the tiniest bables take thelr daytime naps as well as all night sleeps in the open many devices for keeping their little bodies properly protected are suggested In the shops, One of the most attractive seen is a sliplike gare ment called a 'baby bunting," fash. foned of white eiderdown, with edges bound fn ribbon, pink or blue, The gar. ment is closed below the feet, and the ' | bead 1g covered with a red riding hood | cap, snug and close, Opening the Jit. tle wrapper in front, baby is slipped In. and kept there with ouly the wee face visible. The garment is sleeveless, thus preventing the possibility of cold bands, *