Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-04-18
THE MAGIC MIRROR.

About eleven o'clock on a cold evening
two young girls were sitting over the fire
in a pretty chintz bed room, the sanctum
sanctorum of Zoe Leslie, that dark, hand
some girl who is lazily unpinning her CLOS
sy hair and letting it fall around her face
in great thick waves. That pretty little,
fair-haired creature busily engaged olsen
tangling her curly wig is her bosom friend
and cousin, Grace Leslie, who has come to
Fair Holm, as Zoe's home is called.
"What thing it is to be rich" suddenly
exclaimed Zoe, who for some time past had
been looking dreamily into the fire, unno-
ticed by her little companion, who was very
busy waging war against her obstinate
locks, and bent upon bringing them into
subsection in the form of steady, sober
plait. 81 wish [ were like you, with only
my face my fortune as the old song says.
The idea of mygodfather leaving me all his
money! He little thought what misery
and perplexity it would cause me, instead
of happiness and comfort, as he fondly i'm
agined. The dear old man! Filthy lucre!
how abominate you! It is truly said,
Money is the root of all evil"
ooh, Zoe" broke in her cousin, edo not
say that. See how you haveit in your pow
err to render others happy"
"Oh, yes-it is all very well for charity,
know impatiently interrupted Zoe. "I
am thinking of my own troubles. Here I
am, a rich heiress, and therefore q prize for
all Adventures. Why, I have had about
twenty offers since I have come into nv
money-all sorts and sizes, from lord to
lawyer. It was only last night, at Lady
Browns party, that that little whipper-
snapper, Lord Tomkins, had the audacity
to propose to me, and actually looked quite
offended and astonished when I told him
that, like the others, he should have his an
swer at my cotillion party. believe he
thought I should have been only too de-
lighted to have the honor of bearing his
name, and would jump at his proposal at
once"
"And do you really intend" asked Grace,
"to give the poor anxious lovers their an
swers then?"
eyes, certainly" answered her cousin,
laughing. Gas have obtained my guard
ian's consent to managing my love affairs
as I please, I arranged this party on pur-
pose to avoid the painful duty of having to
say decided mo- to twenty different suit
ors, for know that is how it will end.
They only want me for my money, and not
for myself. think it is capital idea.
They will know their fate in the figure of
the looking glass; for as their faces, look
ing over my shoulder, are reflected in the
mirror that I hold in my hand, they will
have their answer; for the sign is, if I re-
fuse them efface their image from the
glass, and if accept them, I dance with
them"
"But is there not one out of all the twen-
ty," asked Grace, ''that you like just lit
tie bit ?"
"No," said Zoe-"strange to say, not one;
and, what is still more strange, the only
young man that do like, Harry Lonsdale,
the wears son, cannot bear me. He always
shuns my society, and when we do happen
to come into contact with each other, he is
quite brusque, and almost wanting in the
common courtesies of polite society,"
perhaps that's his natural manner" ar
gued Grace. "Some people are by nature
rather abrupt
"No, that is the mystery" despondently
answered her cousin. ITO others he is the
essence of politeness; but to me he always
maintains the same cold and extraordinary
behavior.
ooh, dear wish we lived in the time of
fairies. and they would perhaps let US have
peep at peoples hearts, and then we
should know their real WORTH
"Happy thought! Let me see, what shall
wish for? On, 1 know, magic mirror
which, rejecting persons face, shall dis
close to me his true character. That would
do splendldly for my cotillion.
4 few moments after this conversation,
the two cousins, with busy thoughts of the
coming eventful night, fell fast asleep.
The sun streaming into the room the
next morning disturbed the peaceful slum-
bers of Grace. She started up, but finding
Zee still fast asleep, she debated in her
mind whether she would have one, only just
one little, delicious snooze, or get up. She
very soon decided upon the former course,
as being the more agreeable, and was on
the point of putting it into execution when
suddenly her eye was caught by something
ghttering on her cousins pillow.
"What can it be?"
She ran to see, and found it to be a
quaint, plainly-set looking-glass. She be-