The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1918-02-22
5 FRIDAYS s
CHAPTER /.

1--WE certainly do" assented idly.
Why not give our digestive appa-
ratus a rest!" she propounded.
why nOtT / rushed to my doom. l
was having my two weeks vacation
and was too happy at being able to
spend it on the island to care any
thing about an argument.
81 suggest that we fast for week"
A suggestion like that put me in a
nice fix. | don't mind stating that at
that time l was about 210 pounds Of
eligible bachelor, aged thirty-ive, COM
fortably in love with Lucille, but too
old and set in the complacent selfish
ness Of single blessedness ever to pre-
tend to be a Romeo. The idea of fast
ing gave me a sinking sensation right
where there was the most room to
sink
"What?" l calculated, forgetting for
the moment that had reputation for
ready repartee.
II said, why not fast for weekY
read an article by Upton S. Clair
about it just this morning. He claims
that fasting thoroughly rebuilds The
system, gets rid Of all toxins and in
creases the mental efficiency 30 per
cent"
She picked up magazine which was
prOpped open face downward on the
lower shelf of the porch table.
Listen to this" she continued. Eat
ing three meals n day is simply hab-
It. We have made tyrants of our stOm-
achs. They demand to be fed every
few hours, and if we answer that de-
mand we are slaves There, that
sounds like the reasoning Of a thinker,
loesnt it?"
1T sounds more like the reasoning of
A thinker than of an eater"
Lucille reproved my flippancy. Il think
Il would do us all good"
But | feel all right now" | called
aer attention to an obvious fact.
She dismissed my objection. You
can't be healthy unless you fast for
week at least once year. Upton S.
Clair says So Mother, you'll try it,
won't you?'
Try what?"
Fasting for Il week"
"Why. yes, if you want to- Her
mother picked up book as If she had
decided nothing more momentous than
question as to whether she preferred
cream or lemon in her tea. She had
been used as an experiment station for
50 many years that nothing surprised
her.
| got up casually and tried to slip in
doors, but Lucille stopped me. Don't
you think it will be lovely, Montmo-
rency?"
/ collapsed into a chair, which col
lapsed Immediately after | did. She
had called me by my first name! Yes;
MontmOrency is my first name 1t
sounds like several names, but it is
only my first. That first name thing
made it very hard to refuse. AS l sat
there ON the porch surrounded by legs,
rung and other parts of chair ter
rife struggle went on in my being be-
tween my heart and my stomach, and
he weaker party won. Possibly my
mind was stunned by my fall, although
| have no recollection of hitting my
head. | felt that Lucille was putting
inc to the test. From the look in her
eye | knew that she was asking me to
choose between love and beefsteak.
So rising phoenix like l answered
bravely, Yes: l think fasting would
be delightful"
SO that was how we began
AS you can easily see, the cause of
the trouble was that Lucille is one of
those persons who take the magazine
health and hygienic writer's in good
faith. 1t is impossible to convince her
that those fellows have to make liv-
ing by their pens the same as other
human authors and that every bizarre
idea they can pounce on means just
SO much more copy at regular rate
per word. No, Lucille must needs try
by experiment every new theory, using
herself or any convenient relative or
friend as n laboratory.
The absurdity of Lucile's attempt to
improve upon her health and looks is
apparent to any one who has ever been |
blessed with sight Of her. You can't |
make slim young body like hers by
simply rolling on the floor for an hour
every day. nor are soft brown eyes
with long, curly lashes the result of
chewing any particular number of |
times upon piece of stea':. Nature
must have been experimenting good |
many centuries before she got just |
that particular texture for hair and
that peculiar shade Of cream velvet for
complications
At this particular time for nearly
twenty-five years she and nature had
been uninterrupted by matrimony in
their job Of decorating, so that it is not
to he wondered at that they had turned
out well nigh perfect product. There
is nothing unfinished about her.
One Of her early spasms was Fletch-
erism; then she struck the nuts and
berries icea. was guest at her home
the summer she tried both of these
things out. If you are goirg to Fletch-
erize, a piece of old boot tastes just as
good as a steak, and 1t is more econom-