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_ ill The blank is slowly breaking! I‘ve just dared to open the portmanteau and look at one of those yellow postâ€" ers. I put it away quick; there's a lump in my throat that seems as if it will never go. One look, and Icould see my little Lola’s brown face smilâ€" ing up at me, and her hands reach- ing out to tell me there‘s nothing in the world to forgive. Nothing! No; she would love to have us think she died for her Canadian boy who‘s out fighting in the warâ€"«lied just as bravely as he would. She never knew; and Will Holly, if ever he returns, will find no one to tell him the truth. That is between Heaven and me; and if there‘s a price to be paid, why. I pay it in full every time I look back -â€"â€"back to dear, terrible Montreal! Yes! It was just after we knew that the war wars going to tighten the bond between Britain and her col- onies. The Exhibition had been in full swing, but people were beginning to forget it and talk of nothing but the farâ€"away struggle on the veldt. Still Lola, and I,who had worked our way up from the South in time for the circus engagement, were doing splen- diid business; and one of the biggest lines on the yellow, bill of attractions was. “ Twice dailyâ€"Little Lola, the Drusky Queen of Snakes." Anyone who has been to that part of the world knows two things: How the people there love a healthy sen- sation, and how they would all be In a. fever of excitement to do some- the Mother Country That’s why the thing to help through her war. place was in a fermentâ€"and why Lo- la’s performance with the snakes had been all the rage. For one thing, I in- variably challenge-d criticism whenI claimed that my daughter had brought a charmed life from her plan- tation home, and experts and others who had stepped sceptically into the ring had had to publicly own them- poison- glan-ds of the full-venomed cobra were selves mystifiedâ€"that the intact. And then, more than all, it was Lola’s big shining, dark eyes, her nutâ€"brown skin, and crop of little black curls, her childish unconscious- ness as she criovoned her “ charm" lulâ€" labies, all of which she had inherited from her Octoroon mother, that add- ed to the witchery of the thing, and made people flock to see her for her- self alone. Little Lola! Never forget that she was the one thing I had in the world to love, and that the mere thought that some day a man might take her from me had always made my blood_ tingle vaguely. I had no tangible fear of it, she was such a clinging little thing that I could not imagine her leaving me for any husband; but the time had come when I scarcely ever let her go long out of my sight. . . . And it was here, at Montreal, that one day I had to wake up to the fact that my Lola was awoman, and had a woman’s heart. It was just after one of the final evening performances. As the cheer- ing died away a man had leaned over the barrier and thrown a fresh rose Into the ring. A few minutes later when Lola had dressed and we were outside, the usual small crowd had collected at the artistes’ entrance to stare at the cases being placed on the trollyâ€"although they could see nothing of the reptiles inside. I hap- pened to swing round suddenly, and my heart jumped; the man was there, whispering something to Lola; and Lola's face seemed to show that she had heard it before. I stared at him, and he moved away. Afterwards, I could recollect having seen the man several times in the front row of the l:ircus stalls, his lips parted, watching bola like one fascinated. " You haveâ€"you have seen that man again?" something made me say to .ier a few days later. "Yes," she whispered. "He waiting. I never knew it." " You never knew i" I threw down my cigar, and got up. “ But who is he? “'hnt has he said to you 'f” “ Oh, no, you won‘t l" she breathed \V (I S quickly, as if she guessedlhad meant to stride after him then and there. She stood looking at me, with piteous eyes and twitching lips. Although turned seventeen she was in many ways infinitely far more of the child than the woman. “ I did mean to tell you.-â€"soon! He only said it frighten- ed himâ€"he wished I could give up the life. andâ€"“ " And be his wife. perhasz“ Ifill-_ ed in, in a stifled passion. “ Iâ€"I don‘t know l" Ah. but the way to put her arms1 round my neck and hide that hot facei Istood she ran forward told me more than any words. fairly stnpefiied. must know that, or you woule ncv erâ€"H got out at last. Who is he? You'fellowsl Write at once; we willâ€"we will!" breathed Lola, clasping her hands as if thrilled at the mere sug- "Yesl Holly," she whispered. “Will gestion. Holly. Ila saw us at Duluth. He spoke to me there, but I thought no more of it. He says he is miserable thinkâ€" ing of itâ€"I don't know why. He would have liked to speak to you, but was ifraid. But nonvâ€"n‘ow he thinks~ be [5 going to the war; they tell him he has been chosen; andâ€"" "Andâ€"Go on; you know it all l" "He only begged me to tell him where we should be when he comes back! That was of. I couldn’t help liking him a little!" As if it wns last night, I can re- member how the swimming eyes look- ezL iniplo'ringly up into mine; how I Illa-d to shut my teeth on words that chotked up. , “ Ioing to the Weir, ils he ’5" Isairl, with a laugh. "5‘0 much the better «for him. If he‘s a gentleman, and wants to know anything of that sort let him ask me." "But you don’t think I‘d ever leave youâ€"ever give it up? I never thought of it at all! Dion’t I know you could never do without me? \Vhy,“ she whispered smiling, "where could you find another Lolaâ€"another Queen of Snakes?" A minute later I had slipped quieiâ€" ly from the house. There was a man walking slowly down the block. He looked back once or twice, but Icould not be sure. Then, late as i! was a newsboy came. shouting out some war news; the man stopped, purchased a paper eagerly, and stood still toread it. I walked past, brushed his arm, and he lobked up with a start. It was the man who wanted my Lolaâ€"a tall, strong young fellow, with a determin- ed, thoughtful face. " Excuse meâ€"Mr. Holly ?" "Certainly!" wars the quick answer. “ It gives me my chance. Mr. Joyce, I‘m a man, same as yourself. I do hope I’ve given no offence in think- ing of, or speaking to your daughâ€" terl” "No offence whatever,” I steadily, “ so long as it ends there, as it must." I “Itâ€"can’t!" He dropped the paper, Iand stepped back, as if I had struck him a blow. His voice went husky. “Can I help myself? Your daughter â€"I have only seen her a dozen times, but I can’t forget herâ€"can’t bear to think I may never see her again. I start for headquarters to-morrow night. I Rneant to see you first. I ask nothingâ€"I cannot, of course,â€"ex- cep-t that lmny write to you, and just think of her as a friend till we coune back. if you let her!” J "I’m sorry,” I said, " but it is out of the question. I can’t sayâ€"we may be hundreds of miles away before that happens. Besides, my daughter has her lprofessional engagements for along time to come.” "Oh, if it‘s a question of money, you need not fearâ€"excuse me! That’s just it; [feel it is no life for a woâ€" manâ€"for a pure, innocent child like that! It’s dangerousâ€"unnatural! I shuidderea every time I saw her per- form, Mr. Joyceâ€"there! I’m not a mad, impulsive boy, but a man who knows when he has met the one we- men to make him happy.” ' \Vith a choke, he swung away. I stared after him, swayed between an- said, back. Why, yes, it was somehow unâ€" reasonable on my part staggering as the revelation had been. I had wooed and married her mother on just such an irresistible impulse, and I was pooh-poohing this man‘s fascination as an incredible piece of impertinence. But I had lost that sweet patient wife her legacy to meâ€"no! If Lola slept that night, I did not At breakfast-time two letters were 1)”â€" ‘ ing on the table. One was signed. ‘ \V. ‘ Holly,“ and it said that, as I had seen 'fit to dismiss contemptuoust what . Wis with him a vital matter, ,turne-d. The postscriptâ€""I am an Ahonourable, if susceptible man, and, tried to prove myself worthy of her” â€"\\';is; pathetic; but [pocketed the letter at once, in dread lest Lola might see it. The other, which Iread aloud, was from the Exhibition Committee. 7 I should see from the papers that the loyal Canadian contingent would be starting for South Africa in 1 days, and it was enthusiastically pro- lpused on all hands to organize 1111011- ster performance on the following Monday. Part of [he proreeds Would be devoted to a presentation for the men Monday. al‘rt of the proceed< Wduitl be sent to England to swell the Nationâ€" a! Relief Fund. No doubt the “ Queen of Snakes" would contribute gratuit- 'd with many others who had the cause lclosc at heart. She Will of me, I know,‘ ger and a queer desire to call him, ‘ long ago; and now to lose little Lola,l he ; should act in his own way when he re- you truly hear that out there I have' l l I l few, I bk my lip on the answer. I did not wish her to know my thoughts~ and how Holly’s last words had rank- led in me. It a perverse bit of spite, no doubt; but. an hour later, lheday mentioned. Ileaven krnws, af- fect that, for certain compelling rea- sons, the " Queen of Snakes" would not be able to give her services on the day mentioned. Heaven knows, af- terwards, I Would have given my righl hand to be able to recall that leltcrl It was gone. For the next two days I remember, I lived in a sort: of un- comfortable consciousncss. And then, on the third day, the new exhibition pluslel‘s Wcrc flaming all over 1110 city. At midday lwas in the little heated conservatory at the back feeding the snakes. I can sce Lola's face III-W, as she came to the doorway with that wondering Whispch "\‘l'hy, I-â€"I mm not billed to apâ€" pear! Not a wordâ€"everyone but me. \Vhat can it mean? Don‘t they want me 2" "Mean? Didn‘t I tell you ?" Isaid, sharply. “ I never promised. \I'e shall be going on to Toronto by lhe first train on Monday.“ 1. That was all. The brown face seemâ€" ed to whiten, the babyâ€"wide eyes star- ed past me for a moment. She said nothing, but the way she turned and crept awayâ€"no. Idon‘t want to think of it! .And two were not to go on to To- ronto on the Monday. Looking back, it seems something more than a great coincidence; but the fact remains that on the Saturday I was taken with a feverish chill, and the docmr who came informed me that I must not dream of such a journey for at least three days Monday evening. with that dull pain still in my limbs, I w is sitting by the fire. I had just been reading of the enthusiastic preparations for the de- parture of the Canadians, and my thoughts veered to that other scene at the Exhibitionâ€"that other out- burst of loyalty. Where was Lola? I suddenly won- dered. She had cleared the tea, kissed me quietly, and said she must go out for a little whileâ€"nearly three hours ago. Perhaps in her room, crying quiet- ly over what might have beenâ€"just her way. Thinking so, I called. No an- SWeI‘, I groped slowly out, tapped at her door, and went in. No, not there. I turned up the gas. She had packed her boxes for the journey; and she had been writing. Tr) Holly, perhaps. I picked up the sheet of blottingâ€"pa- per on the dressing table out of our- iosity. I could just make out a few of the faint words She had blotted; "My contribution. . brave soldiers . orphans and widows who. . . Most sorry. ." Ah, the silly child “'3 S had been writing to the Exhibition‘ Ocmmittee to tell them she was sor- ry she could not help as ever) one else, was doing, and very likely inclosing a bigger sum towards the fund than she would like me to know. I laughed as I went out but Ihad a sort of lump in my throat, Ifelt very sick and shaky. I w0uld feed the snakesâ€"a thing I had never yet al- lowed anyone else to d0â€"-and then go ‘ to bed. I went down and out to the little conservatory. As I stepped inside with the lamp I had a queer sensa- 'tion. It was not the sickly heat of the place; it was the fact that the perforated case in which I kept the wriggling score of small, harmless reptilesâ€"the ones which Lola's plan- tation crooning would bring in afasâ€" cinaling circle around herâ€"was not thereâ€"VVhy, whatâ€"â€"! I looked across to the other corner, where the big cobra case should stand. Goneâ€"the cobra case gone! Just my brain could actâ€"act with a. reeling swiftness. I'hnt letter of Lul'.1’::~l saw now, gauged the situation in a flash. She hid wril'len to say it Was all a misâ€" . tzikeâ€"s‘hc would give her performance; unknan to me she had taken her opâ€" portunity, andâ€"and. How long did I stand, with the sweat beading out on me, and that icy wind from nowhere seeming to fun the hair back from my forehead? I shall never know, never care to calâ€" culate. Think of my position; try' and reilize that I had been playing upon the world a daring professional trick all these yearsâ€"the trick that hrid brought me money everywhere, and made little Lula falsely famous as a being with a charmed life. 'Ih'it big case, contrived by myself on acunning inspiration was a fraud that I had come to believe would nev- Audiences, ex- Lola herself, er ll‘.i'\V be unmasked. peris, doctorsâ€"even . ,. i 011513' 119“ “Hereskmg ‘Ul‘ll- ‘11 1"”11111011 whnn I had never dared to tellâ€"a1! believed that it contained one dead» ly cobraâ€"the reptile which I had a "Yor‘d botte‘l‘ tell me at once," Ii "0h. yesâ€"yes: 0h, yrsâ€"the brave device for [rapping and homing safe, ‘that the violins ‘there nowâ€"killed by the attendants’; and summer. ‘the material not only is trying, but stitching in ly while its fangs were being examâ€" ed. One cobraâ€"that I always slipped back into the case, while, as for dramâ€" atic effect, I addressed the audiencc and claimed a strange immunity for the ” Queen of Snakes" Tlicn,nt the psychic moment, one touch of a spring set free .i swiftâ€"sliding shutter which imprisoned the genuine snake outot sight; another cobra was thereâ€"an exact (louble,â€"~perfel-tly harmless This was the reptile which the public the reptile which coiled round Lola's arm 01‘ waist, and darted futuously at her while she stood smil- ing, serene in the implicit belief in her own powers that made her per- formance so convincing and bewitch- I was always at head, ready to slip it back, touch the spring again, and intervicw reporters as to my anâ€" lidotal theory. And now, to-night. I \VJS not there; and Lola knew nothing of the ascending shutter and the cobra underneath. At this very mo- ment, perhaps. “What's the matter, Mr. Joyce? Anything amiss 'f“ It was the land- lady, who had perhaps been watchâ€" ing. "Whoâ€"whoâ€"” I whispered pointâ€" ing slared at, ing. Why," she breathed, " Miss Lola! She came back with one of the circus men, not an hour ago. She was all excitementâ€"just time for her turn, she said." I must have dropped the lamp, sent up one wild prayer to Heaven, and, halless, in a delirium of fear, stag- gered from the house. The first thing I’realized was that I was panting along the street, people staring and drawing back to let me pass. Myi Lolaâ€"my littleALola! To be in timeâ€"â€" to stop the turn, whatever the world thought next day! Now I had reached the Exhibition main gate. And nowâ€"now I had husâ€" tled through, and fought my mad way to the big circus pavilion, into the blaze of white light. . There was, the amphitheatre ring, round which, the piebald horses and the Roman, chariots had raced. It seemed to 1116‘ had been playing; and had stopped; but only abrealhâ€" catch here and there broke a great“ hush as, like a man halfâ€"blinded by, the glare, I felt my way down one, of the tiered gangways, leaped the‘ barrier, and gropcd into the ring! I was in lime! Aye, in time to see; the sight that ccirnes to me in every dream. Dreamlike it was then, and must ever be. I knew afterwards that, the music had broken off as the cobra. the hood dilating on its neck, made one sa-va-ge dart at the white folds covering Lola‘s breast, and she sway- ed back with a cry that no one unâ€"l dersutood. Dead and powerless it lay1 rods as it glided away. And my little Lola, her face twitching in the agony that has no nameâ€"she lay back in someone‘s arms. In time, yes! Just time to catch her in my arms. and hold her convulsively, calling her name,i hoarsely, as they said afterwards.‘ Just time to see her eyes open, and feel the little brown fingers close on mine for the last time; just long enough to catch that faint whisper: “Daddy! I’m goingâ€"to himâ€"for him -40rut there I"- N'o more. . The Canadians have goneâ€"many, they tell me, to prove their bravery with their lives. And those who returnâ€"they will never know all, but they will hear of the fund, and they may like to her how little Lola gave her contribution. ___§__ KHAKI COSTUMES. "Khaki" costumes are considered smart and likewise extremely service- ‘able. They will be used for traveling and all kinds of outing this spring But to many persons positively unbecoming. This may be overcome without detracting from the desirable features of the khaki by the addition of a dash of red, just a little of it, for example, in the collar, cuffs and belt. For those who prefer some other color than red, blue is good, although the contrast is not so effective. Khaki suits course are showing much white or blue thread and are extremely useful and suitable for outings. A brass-button- ed pocket here and there gives an adâ€" ditional touch of utility and militar- ism and is very spruce and trig on the right sort of girl. .â€" MUT I'AL SYMPATHY. Collectorâ€"I'm sorry, Mr. Slowpay, but your tailor has put his account against you into my hands forrollec- lion. , )Ir, SloMpayâ€"He has. eh? Do you work on a commission basis? 3 Collectorâ€"Yes, sir. )Ir. Elowpayâ€"‘Ihen I'm sorry for l l t you. ' moi _ â€". _ INTERESTING ITEMS ABOUT OUR OWN COUNTRY. lrom Varlous Palms from an Atlantlc to the Pacific. “'lDB-llflm's population is 2,204. Tllbllfb' has 8 pOpulation of 1,002, Manitoulin is enjoying a land boom. Calgary‘s now an incorporated city. Galt school teachers have organized an association. St. Thomas is to have a new Y.)I.0. A. building. All the licenses in North Brant hav. been renewed. Havelock’s new town hall will I). built by day labour. Orillia‘s population shows an In- crease of 60, being now 4,667. A boat will run daily this year be- tween Port Perry and Lindsay. Floyd W. Clearwaler has been ap- pointed postmaster at Huntsvllle. One thousand or more trees willbo planted on Orillia streets during May. W. H. Matthews has been elected president of the Huntville Board of Trade. Mr. Calder has been elected chair- manof the Parry Sound IAcense Com- imissiOIners. The licenses of the European and Board of Trade hotels at Guelph have been cut off. Samuel Cameron, at one time plro- prietor of the Russell House, Orilliia. died at Owen Sound a The Gladstone liner Alice Stafford was the first vessel to enter Owen Sound harbour this year. Miss Violet Dover. of Peterboro. has been given the degree of MA. by M0- Gill University, Montreal. Michael Hennessey, who had his arm born from his body in 3 Lindsay mill, Gathered ‘w'll likely recover. Mrs. Stewart, wife of the first mem- ber of Parliament for Bytown, and her of Macleod Stewart, is dead. Fred Adams purchased the old ex- hibition grounds at Bellevllle for $3.000 It will be converted into an athletic park. When the Peterboro fire brigade was on its way to Ottawa, last week the special train made the distance between Havelock and Peterboro, 24 miles, in 27 minutes. Harten. Renfrew county. has awil-d co-w. It is a good milker, but is 0 better “hooker.” In one of itl charges John D. McNicol had ashoul- der dislocated. Several others have also been injured by the animal. iArthur Pindar, of K‘aslo, B. C. en- listed with the S‘trathcona Horse for South Africa, but before sailing ho was notified that he had fallen heir [to a fortune of $500,000 and obtained leave of absence, proceeding at once to England. A farmer near Burgessville bought a heifer for $12 a short time ago which developed into the most won- derful milker on record when fed under natural conditions. The Agri- cultural College. experte at Guelph~ heard of the cow and got leave from the farmer to make a careful test. The cow was fed on the most approved plan for sec-tying economical results, and produced 80 pounds of milk per day, being milked three times every, 24 hours. The sum of $700 has been offered for his prodigy and refused. I .___.__ THE FLO\VER GARDEN. The revival of gardening is almost the most interesting movements in the outdoor life of modern England. It is more than a revival for the flower garden of to-day is more beautiful and contains more flowers and fine]: flowers than any garden the world has ever seen. It is more permanent than a taste. It is an art well under- stood in thousands of country houses, not only by the servants, but by the owners. The modern flower gardening has its “ schools," in which the formalist and the naturalist compete on principles well understood, and in their compe- tition advance the common cause in the service of the beautiful. At the present moment the " naturalists"aro in the ascondant. They have developed and improved hundreds of the hardier outdoor plants; they have shown how, and where they should be planted. .__+___. THE MEAN THING. Miss A.â€"thn I‘m asked to sing I don‘t say, "No, I can’t sing," nor wait to be coaxed, but sit right down at the piano undâ€" Miss B.â€"I.eave it to the company to find it out for them-selves. IN THE BAKERY. Jaggsâ€"Did you ever see a cake- walk? \K'aggsâ€"No; but I’ve scen a crac- ker-box.