Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-01-30
The long wt,ven locks in front broke natu-

rally into mass ofshining curls altogether
too pretty and bewitching, Miss Bradford
decided, and so the merciess scissors were
again applied, and the thick curs fell in
siken mass to the floor, leaving Beth's
wretched little head as close cropped as a
convicts.
"You will probably have to wear n close
cap for a few weeks until your hair grows
out little" Edith remarked coolly, as
she counted out to Beth Der hard earned
money. You look rather odd just at
present, but it will be great convenience
for you not to have such mop of hair to
take care Of"
Beth was too faint and dizzy from the
loss of her heavy fleece to make reply, and
crept back to her sewing, with the 500
tucked safely away in her shabby little
portmonnaie, to ease her aching heart.
When the evening of the masquerade
came Beth helped to arrange her severed
braids, smooth and shining as golden SATIN
on Miss Bradford's head, making complete
the exquisite Marguerite costume. Then
she returned to her humble cottage home
and cuddled up in big chair in the cozy
little paror and first cried softly at it all,
then very bravely and sensibly decided to
thoroughly enjoy her sacrifice, and to put
away from her all thought of Philip
Courtenay's bold, handsome eyes.
While that gentleman, securely disguised
in his magnificent costume of "Sir Launce-
lot" was making his way toward tall,
graceful Marguerite, whose long, glitter
ing plaits he was sure never grew on any
other head than that of sweet, gentle Beth
Thornton, what was his surprise as he
drew nearer to hear a fragment of CONVEX
sation between the supposed Beth and
/ a1s, Il
gay ribbons.
aren't the braids magnificent" came
| from Marguerite but in a voice which he
instantly recognized as Edith Bradfords.
"And you'd never guess where in the world
they came from either, Nina. Just fancyl
| | cut them from the head of Beth Thorn
! ton, the village seamstress, who has been
making my costume. / was determined to
appear tonight as Marguerite, and as |
! haven't enough hair of my own to make
decent looking braids, tried to match it
/ in Boston, but failed-none of the hair
dressers had anything near it in color.
Fortunately Beths locks were the very
same shade as mine, and as | happened to
know that she was very anxious to raise
enough money to have her mothers eyes
operated on, offered her a good round
price for her browning glory. She pre-
ferred her mothers eyesight to her own
beauty, consequently she is at home with a
close cropped head, and l am here with her
plaits."
The little red slippered girl was in costa
cies.
"They are superb, Edith Mr.. Courte-
nays heart will be tangled in their silken
meshes, for of course he will never ina
CINE but what they are all your own.
Honor bright-tell me, aren't you two en-
gagged? or is it alp
That was all Mr.. Courtenay heard-all
he wanted to hear, for this story of Beth
! Thoruton's noble sacrifice mad opened his
eyes to the fact that she was the dearest
girl in all the world for him. Therefore,
while Edith Bradford was Haunting her
Marguerite braids proudly, and watching
with painful anxiety the coming of her
knight, that gentleman was sitting in the
parlor of Mrs. Thornton's modest cottage,
with feathered chapeau dotted at Beth S
feet, and all his eager passion in his hand
some eyes as he told her how he loved her,
more than ever for her noble sacrifice, and
pleaded well with her to give her sweet self
to him for ever and aye.
And Beth, hushed and dazed with the
exquisite surprise of happiness, could only
look her responsive love from shy, sweet
eyes that told the story of her heart
And Edith Bradford wonders, with not
a little culver of jealous pain, how ever it
happened that Philip Courtenay, such an
admirer of female beauty and luXuriant
tresses, in particular, ever came to fall in
love with Beth Thornton after she had
given her such prison crop.-C. +. b. in
Buffalo Evening News