Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-12-19

Oo w A"' J",'GhA%Ass AAGAS oSoliA
Don Luis applies the whole of his
wonderful mind to the business.
In addition to this, in addition
to his old books on ethics and
philosophy, to which no has re-
turned with such pleasure, he Gull
tivates his garden. He dotes on
his flowers. He is proud of them.
He takes prizes at the shows; and
the success is still remembered Of
the treble carnation, streaked red
and yellow, which he exhibited as
the "Arsene carnation."
But he works hardest at certain
large flowers that blossom In sum-
mer. During July and the first
half Of August they fill two-thirds
of his lawn and all the borders of
his Kitchen garden. Beautiful,
decorative plants. standing erect
like flag staffs. they proudly raise
their spiky heads Of all colors:
blue, violet, mauve, pink, white.
They are lupins and include ev-
cry variety; Cruikshank' lupin,
the scented lupin, and the last to
appear, Lupin's lupin. They are
all there, resplendent, in serried
ranks like an army Of soldiers,
each striving to outstrip the
others to hold up the thickest and
ga1diest spike to the sun They
are all there and, at the enrance
to the walk that leads to their
motley beds, is a streamer with
this device, taken from an exquis-
ite sonnet of Jose Maria de
Heredia: /.
and in my kitchen-garden
lupins grow"
You will say that this is a con-
fession. But why mott
In the evening, when a few
privileged neighbors meet at his
house-the justice of the peace,
notary, Major Comte d'Astrignac,
who has also gone to live at Saint
Maclou-Don Luis is not afraid to
speak Of Arsene Lupin.
II used to see a great deal of
him." he says. "He was not a
bad man. l will not go so far as
to compare him with the Seven
Sages, or even to hold him up IS
an example to future generations,
but still we must Judge him with
a certain indulgence.
HE did q vast amount of good
and a moderate amount of harm.
Those who suffered through him
deserved what they got; and fate
would have punished them sooner
or later if he had not forestalled
her. Between q Lupin who Sc
lected his victims among the ruck
of wicked rich men and some big
company promoter who deliber-
ately ruins numbers of poor peo-
pie, would you hesitate for a mo-
mentf Does not Lupin come cut
best7
"And, on the other hand, what
a host Of good actions! What
countless proofs Of disinterested
generosity! A burglari 1 admit
it. A swindlerf l don't deny it.
He was all that. But he was some
thing more than that. And, while
he amused the. gallery with his
skill and ingenuity, he reused the
general enthusiasm in other ways.
"People laughed at his prac-
teal jokes, but they loved his
pluck, his courage, his adven-
turous spirit, his contempt for
danger, his shrewd insight, his un-
failing good humor, his reckless
energy; all qualities that stood
out at a period when the most ae-
tive virtues of our race had
reached their zenith, the period of
the motor. ear and the airplane.
Zone day" he said, as a joke,
II should like my epitaph read,
Here lies Arsene Lupin, adven-
That was quite correct.
He was a master of adventure.
and, If the spirit of adventure
led him too often to put his hand
in other peoples pockets, it also
led him to battlefields where it
gives those who are worthy OPP
portunity to fight and win titles
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