The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-10-25

through the mail addressed to Caroline.
She took 1t to her room and, although
there was no one in the house but her
self, locked the door. She pondered. II
she should use the dye, would she be the
only one deceived? Would the rest of
the world pierce the deception at once?
She sat there awhile pensively istless in
her manner of thought, examining the
label. Then "a sudden revulsion against
the deceit of the world overmastered her.
She arose from her chair and drew in a
long breath. She applied the spark of
self condemnation and shook at the ex-
plosion.
Never"
There was no danger now that she
would ever use the dye. She perused
the list of testimonials. Mrs" was the
abbreviation that prefxed each sigma
ture. 1t would be no disgrace to grow
gray if she were married now- Surely
not. Not SO much OF Il disgrace IL she
were a widow now. So she thought.
But an unmarried woman! A spinster!
She drew the cork from the bottle and
poured the contents ont of the window.
With a penknife she scraped off the la
bel. She put these s~crapings, the testi-
monials. the wrappers and inner wrap
| pers into her pocket. She would burn
them later.
Five years ago an oculist examined
Caroline's eyes and told her she was near
sighted fact she had known for the
previous decade. He prescribed glasses,
and she purchased them. She concealed
them in that drawer of the bureau that
was always kept locked, except when it
was necessary to take out or put away
certain valuables and keepsakes. When
nobody was about, she would wear them.
She was reluctant to do so, but they add
ed to her comfort. And the newspapers
and Thackeray and Hawthorne and Bal
FAC must be read, even at the expense of
personal vanity.
An unmarried woman, with no father,
no mother, an income of a pittance, a
single servant, was excusable for doing
almost anything. So she wore them.
She did not dare to look at herself closely
in the mirror when she first put them or
She stood about 10 feet back, at which
distance she noticed that her hair had
an iron gray appearance. She gained
courage awhile later, and examined her
self in the hand glass. That iron gray
shade was her optical illusion. There
were black hairs and white hairs-a
slight predominance of white. Rarely
thereafter did she wear them when gaz.
ing into the mirror. She turned hei
head away when walking past it. Every
time she put them on she did it with
WY face. Once she cried and was about
to throw them away, but restrained her
self.
A few weeks ago Caroline plucked the
last black hair from her snow white
head. She did it with the same petu
lance with which 10 years before sh'
had drawn out the first thread of white
the one ray of light in the black dark
ness. She took from the bureaus secre
drawer a small envelope, and from thi
distracted that original curiosity. Sh
placed it by the side of this latter da,
curio, the black hair, the last remnan
of the cascade that had been the admira
ton of her school friends. She wouns
them about her fingers and tied them
then placed them in the envelope.
1t was the spirit of the gambler in hi
moment of desperation with which slr
had done this. The world should know
now that Caroline could grow old IN
finchingly. She pick ed up a volume o
/ THE Scarlet Letter" that was near a
hand, to steady the envelope while sh
! wrote simply:
- | am a spinster. John loved m
and would have continued to love me
+ Now he is the statesman upon who's
) words depends the welfare of nations.
have discovered that | loved him, but
was preiudiced. He wore glasses"--
: She locked it in the bureau and trie
the drawer to make ure.-Irving S. Ur
. derhill in Buffalo Illustrated.