Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-06-04
A CONFESSION.


Gay 5 mail
The room was the tidy. correct cham
Der Of a spinster
Not feature of the place or It's be.
!ongines limited at the thought Of girl
IN her teens.
All the literature, photogravure and
even the papering protested against the
age Of frivoIity.
Tie small writing table, never lit
tered by the moods Of young scribes.
was correct rs usual, and with a Gre
clan patterned letter opener Eunice
Raven cut the leaves of New York
posted letter.
People said that is, they had so ven.
tured when in the confidential presence
of their dearest friends--th Eunice
Raven once had an admi,er.
No one knew positively that he actu-
ally reached the importance Ct beau, ="
and as Euuice declined TO claim amy
such article, surely no one could know
better in the matter than the woman
herself.
Eunice Raven was a good and unself~
iSh woman in her small world, and ran
the sands e life 10 even measure with
out a suspicion Of revolt, but there were
times when she did rebel, and her re-
bellion only took her the oftener to her
little room over the best parlor, where
her Thomas Kempis and other spir-
itual condiments were pencil marked
anew.
If any one in Palenville had CHANGED
TO see Eunice Raven open that New
York posted letter, there would have
remained no doubt for them that She
once had an admircr
Out from the strangely directed en-
velope fell a small sized photograph
one Of the old style, with never a bit of
polish III the finishing and nothing but
grim featured lncaments depicted.
The face was strong, manly counte-
nance, with much frank kindness III the
smiling eyes and chin showing well
tempered affection.
The picture brought warm, girl
hood glow TO the gazer's face, while
the light Of a sleeping memory, dim at
first and quickly deepening, famed from
heart TO face.
The letter was n long one closely
written, and apparently with effort
crossed and recroSsed womanwise.
Within was a second letter unopened,
with the date Of 10 wears resting on it's
shamefaccd surface.
Over the first. leaning toward the
light aud ncrvcd for something more
vaguely feared than discovered, Eunice
read with pied face.
Over the F. .ald She paused. and the
dim light q that rekindlod memory
again filled "A pt,y,cd uDou her.
She trcn.. 4 witt all the agitation
of her girl heart aroused
Takiur il tctwceu her wiry fingers
Eunice str.l'rl ti,. stlll uni roken seal
TL,n aio,a Size read the date.
"if 10 had come TO me then, there
would l..t leen no happier day in my
Nineteen wears from his hand TO
n e..
She laid the letter down and dropped
back i'm the chair
Her pYsitlon. reflected bv the faithful
mirror was an awkward slouchiug
one.
1t WAS inst sucb She had maintained
in bor teacbino last session thar only a
woman with no backbone would as.
sume. and she ar once sat erect in the
instant correction Of such laxitv
"Ninoteen wears roo late -
And 70 wears the wrong side of matri
monv. when one is alone in tine world
is little more than single misery
Her eves blinded with bot angry
fears at tbe crpel disannointino hitter
ness of il
Then she read again the fine French
sheets Of milk white naner upon which
the puiltv confession of the writer
looked blacker than at first
As she read she tried 10 nicture very
correctly and Justly the mind Of the