Year: 1860

Inns till bees might mistake them for roses. tt


Young girls II is invaluable for ME, 1t Is useless


and ook at this little phial OF golden drop
hold one a moment in your mouth, and yor


eyes would rival in brightness the kohinoo


Come to me some evening when you doubt tt
brilliancy of your own soft gances, and the
+ | shah be renewed hereby. Come, aeknow
, edge that my complexion has brought togeth
q rarer combination Of chemicals than wa


dreamt Of in your philosophy" the lively lad


ratified on: Why, the wise men of the east an


the medicine man of savage wilds; the female G.


terer to female vanity, and the learned chemist


modern schools, all have helped to fill this magi


box with the results of their skill. Some, sti


use, soma have become worthless, except as re


minders Of other days, and some retain as mer


curiosites of the toilette. Naturally beautiful as


girl when began to fade spared no pains to re
. place nature by art. Edgar Poe has said, think
that an artist can always improve upon nature;


suggestion, my dear, that ladies little passe hui


as fattering unction to their souls"


i "Pray, tell me what is this?n Vira asked, begin


ming to feel strange interest in the box and lift
ing from side aperture large antique bottle


curiously cut and closely corked.


/ "Ah! thereby hangs tale,' replied Madam
| Lagrange. /" When / was first widow | was
/ young widow. To shorten my story, young


physician became desperately enamored Of me
4 / knew him long enough to feel upon familia
footing with him, and used openly then, in ny
heyday of natural lilies and roses to express my
horror Of coming age and wrinkles. Tie was wont


in reply, to mysteriousy allude to some secret ot
| great price he had obtained from an East India
1 physician which would ward off all such enemies


and preserve female beauty in primitive freshness.


had never thought of him as a husband, and
when he proposed | refused him. He left me
/ more in sorrow than in anger and soon went
away on whaling voyage; but remembering my
| weakness, before leaving he sent me this bottle,


which was cut after design of his own, though !


never could discover much design about it, and
| filed, as you now see it, with powder which
was to use when would fain cheat time of the
| roses he would attempt to steal from me. You
see directions for are cut in delicate text and
colored at the base Of the bottles and in his fare
well epistle he assured me it would round the
fading cheek fill the fragile FORM and in short,
work wonders and perform Miracles


"And you never opened it!''


No. To tell the truth, was suspicious Of the
disinterestedness Of the donor How did know
but it was some subtle poison, designed to rob me
Of life through my vanity? preferred the risk Of
running my skin by outward applications to that of
requiring stomach pump to eject some fatal
DOSE


" The bottle is in itself curiosity" said Yira,
holding it up to the light and closely examining it.


1t is, indeed; and though shall never use its
contents, with a womaRs inconsistency keep it
and prize it and look at it in great while,
we are prone to look upon faded boquets and
other withered love tokens Of saud lang syne.'
But shut the box and put it away, Mono yonder
is Victor coming, Miss Mott, and as yet keep him
in blissful ignorance Of the mysteries Of blush
as seen in ladies' faces


g He seems to be worshipper Of beauty yira
said, with sudden chill in her tone.


He is,p replied the mother, fondly. " have
heard him say he could never be happy with a
wife whose face was not beautiful exceedingly
and constant reminder of the beauty Of her
soul.n


"He ia fastidious above other men, then,n
answered Vira with forced laugh " for the gem
erality of them seem to believe that inner and out
ward beauty are rarely combined in woman, and
contentedly make a choice of that which they
prize the most. But it is time to dress-permit me
to escape, dear madame, by this side door,


As Victor opened one door, Vira vanished by
the other and instantly seeking her own room,
plead ndispostion as an excuse for leaving it no
more that day.


CHAPTER III.


A new, wild passion took possession of Vfra's |
Boul. Would the pale powder given Madame Le
grange by her chemist lover perform its promised /
wonders? Gould it be that the beauty she coveted /
ay prisoned there, waiting only its release from
hat cabalstic hottle2 She believed it possible
ind it was not vanity alone which spoke in the
'oung girls heart, as she felt she was willing to
un whatever risks Madame Lagrange had SO
readed, in order to try the effects of the prepara
ion. She believed that her plain face and form
lone stood between her and the man she loved;
he man without whose presence she felt life was
unless and time a starless night. How many |
lines had she listened to his eloquent praises of /
,eauty, and turned away heart-siek, to hide her
wn face from his sight. Never had the thought I
occurred TO her that every face is type of beauty
d the sight of some one-and that her own fea- /
ures, however unlovely to herself might after all
e the fairest of the fair in the eyes of the fasti
ious Mr.. Lagrange. To make them SO, became
er eager desire and to possess herself of that
magic powder, to test its efficacy and prove its
over, grew into one Of those settled determine
ons which haunt us sometimes, without giving US
he least clue by which said resolve may be carried
ut. She could not go and ask for it, thus betray-
ng, as she felt, her own weakness and vanity and
he resolved upon stratagem by which to carry
'ut her design.


Madame Lagrange lay on her sofa half DOING
,yer novel, as yira entered her apartment:
homo, she had seen on the way TO the bath.house,
en- minutes before.


Do not rise p Vira cried; q come for YOU to
'edeem your promise, and brighten up these Ian
gaid eyes Of mine with some Of your golden drops.n


All, then you intend to be one of the merry-
makers tonight. Mono is out, my love; sit down
.ill she returns; have not the key.n


It is hanging yonder; may Ihelp myself ?,


"Yraiment ma chere.''


The lady's eyes sought her book again. and with
eager haste Vira bent down, unlocked the case and
took out, not only the golden drops, but also the
coveted bottle. Goncealing the latter, she left the
room, telling its occupant she would return in
Once in the secInsion of her chamber
she uneorked the white powder, hastily turned ii
into another bottle prepared for its reception. and
reflled that belonging to Madame Lagrange with
substance SO closely resembling the other that no
casual inspection could detect the change. She
hen corked, sealed and tied it as before and cara.