The Monticellonian., 1917-02-22

have lived. not with the most skilfut surgeon5 in the world attending her But she seemed to think of nothing but her unkindness to her husbands old friend, and she had expressed the wish that Garretson should be her child's guardian, If he survived her husband.
 Well said Doctor Immanuel, ris- ing from his chair and pacing the room quickly. that is all there is to tell Lassalle died two years after ward and Garretson became the guardian of Miss Margaret She has been like a daughter to him. but as I said, Garretson is afraid that deeg- CT sentiment may develop on her part, as it has on his, and to avoid that he is sending her to England, at the cost of great deal of suffering. It is odd" he added, how men like Gar. retson. who are by nature affection. ate and dependent for their happiness on a happy home life. should be con tinually crucfied in their loves"
 Paul Tarrant stood up
 NUN Itt uS dHdIA Ae tIiS SAOIg Nf yours Immanuel," he said Tt seems to me you are making a mountain out of molehill. The theory you are putting forward is. of course. that Miss Margaret Lassalle is the rein i carnation of her half-sister, Miss Mary. and that the mother, realizing this with the approach of death, made l Garretson her guardian"
 That is my theory answered the doctor, smiling. Well, have you a better one, Tarrant?"
 And that Miss Margaret passed q prior, or rather between-stages exist ence, as an orchard of peach trees Now, my dear doctor, are you not aware that the life of the peach is only twelve or fifteen years? Sup pose the orchard did die suddenly ? Perhaps it was nipped by a late frost. l Good heavens, Immanuel as said 1 before, are you going to bring me i back to earth as a bushel Of sweet peas or couple of hundred beds Of 1 geraniums? ?'
 This is my interpretation" an. swered the doctor, ignoring the other outhurst T can imagine Mary Las salle, discarnate, her whole desire cen. l tered upon one person-Andrew Gar retson. can picture to myself the | frantic efforts of this discarnate per sonality to clothe itself in flesh again impossible. for the simple reason that the mechanism was not at hand, that the psychic framework for the new organism had not been built up 1 slowly, during the centuries, out of the satisfaction, in heaven, of the soul life. In other words. she could no more come back to birth immediately ! than the peach tree could grow fruit before it had blossomed. Yet these intellectual efforts did project her will | into physical manifestation part of her personality, the part that l loved became entangled in the body of our remote ancestors, the trees which, as you know. are biologically constructed from pretoplasm. as we are. and different from animals only in the lack of a nervous system (very significant. that, if you will refect1. And so the loving part of Mary Las salle, the part that loved but could not suffer. grew, Dryad-like, into the trees and flowers, blindly, instinctive- ly, but not of volitien, Tarfant It was not till ten years had passed that the soul could. by it's superhuman eff forts find the bodily vehicle for 1t self again. And the rest you know"
 .Bah" said the millionaire, fiinging the end of his cigar into the fire. Your theories are-excuse me sometimes ludicrous,"
 Then all mythology is ludicrous, ; replied Immanuel. The goddess Daphne was not changed into a Laurel, there never were tree spirits the ancient Britons were lunatics to worship the mistletoe, and the story of Proserpine is not even founded upon truth"
 Why, who in the world supposed 1t was, Immanuel?" asked the million. aire.
 Do you imagine" asked the Greek buttonholing the other and smiling up imperturbably into his face, that religious symbols and mythologies which lasted for uneountable centuries were really founded on nothing at all"
 "On nothing at all," said Tarrant smiling.
 You don't believe in Santa Claus for example?"
 Believe in Santa Claus," ex. claimed Tarrant. "Well-hardly
 And yet I saw you last Christmas