The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-03
The Man in the Mirror.

|
| have met socially and in travelling and
| at college, I have never seen one who
appealed 70 me in any save a, friendly
! way l ike men very well. Their point
! OF view does not seem TO me quite so
| entertaining as that of the best women
know. They have too much policy and
/ TOO little sentiment. But. stil, I enjoy
! them. l like TO know them. 1 should
| feel aGgrieved if I did not have gentle
men callers and if were not taken to
| codlions. But. as for meeting a man
/ that seemed TO be my master. or one who
/ lnfatuates me, or even disturbs my
| thought, have Vet TO know the expert
! enee. Sometimes think love in the old
| fashioned sense of the word does not be-
| long to this age at all Or, perhaps, it
| never belonged TO any age. Perhaps it
| Is merely a tradition, ike the miracles
| OF the saints. Probably it is medieval
| idea invented by the tr0ubadours. Any
| way, it doesn't seem III accord with the
practical, scientific present. For, of
course, it can never be anything but
| an 1lusion-a sort Of madness. It is
| IKE Wltchcraft, l imagine or hypnotism.
| A sort of obessiOn TO take possession of
| the mind, convincing a woman that one
particular man is better than all other
men, and that she can not live without
! MIN, which is of course a form of in
sanity, or, at any rate. a fixed delusion
A woman like myself, who has gone TO a
university with several hundred men.
and who is used to applying scientific
standards to things, naturally would be
as exempt from such thing as she
would from the evil eye
her brother, who had been sitting up
half the night writindg a poem to a girl
TO convince her that she was like a wild
June rose, blushed, but refused to par
icirate in en- argument
1t was that night that Halle Monroe
ccmbing out her long, brown locks be-
fore her mirror, was startled and made
indignant by the reflection of a mans
face in her mirror. She turned with
flaming cheeks to rebuke the intruder
for coming upon her privacy. but, though
she scrutinized the room as well as her
fright would permit, she saw no one She
went out into the corridor, looked in the
closets, searched behind every article Of
furniture in her bedroom and boudair,
but found no one. Every one else in the
jhouse had gone to bed, and. loath To
awaken them without sufficient cause.
she persuaded herself that she had i'm
agined the vision in her glass. and. with
what ealmness she could command re-
sumed the brushing of her hair. But no
sooner had she confronted her glass than
the face appeared once more before her,
looking at her with curious and kindly
eyes.
= Again she searched Again she found
nothing. And then. with fear and a
fascination upon her, returned with pale
courage to the glass to decide for herself
what this aDparition might mean. The
face was tIere awaiting her It was
the face of a man barely on the pleasant
side of middle life. The brow was byoad
and high, the cheek bones rather promi-
Lent, the nose large and shapelY, the
mouth and chin firm and of much char
acter The tint of the abundant Ill
kempt locks was a reddish brown; there
was no beard the eyes were reddish
brown, too. and were set deep in the
head, beneath brows of unusual thick
ness and length. Oddly enough these
brows were many shades darker than
the curling hair, and meeting above the
nose. as they did, gave a strange accent
uation to the fave.
"Who are your
Her lips shaped the words uncon-
sciously.
The apparition appeared to smile. slow
ly, with an expression of infinite content,
and the eyes appeared to saw:
Il am your souls chosen friend"
After this. even while Halle fingered,
the face faded away and was gone.
You are changed, Halle" her brother
ventured to remark one day after the in
timacy between herself and the we'll
loved shadow had continued for several
months. Il no longer hear you railing
against love and all that. Yet YOU go
out seldom and see people less frequent
~ than ever before in your life l no.
tice that you contriye to escape most Of |
your callers. What does it mean? Have |
you a secret love affair? It isn't fair CT |
you, you know. if you have. Since L |
have endured all of your vituoacltion |
with patience these many years. l tlImk |
I am entitled 10 hear your rccanta tion." |
Then, because it was twilight. ard |
Halle could not see her brothers face. |
she told him the full story Of her expert /
ence. He, listening aghast, could only |
cry out in alarm:
Halle you are going madi You must |
tell this to no one. You must 30 away |
for n change OF scene. I VIII go with |
you. If necessary we must consult tIain
specialists. Why have you not told me |
this before?"
Now the girl had particularly besought |
her friend Of the mirror to return on this |
night, and she had read acquiescence in !
his eyes. so she only said to her brother:
After the house is still, come 10 my
room
reason, Frederic Monroe creot along the
corridor from his room to his sisters at
the dead of night. He noiselessly enter
ed the pretty little boudoir that opened
off her bedroom. With her hair unbraid-
ed ard falling about her like a silken
mantle she sat before her dressing ia
BILE. The warmth and perfume OF he
room. and the grace Of the woman who
sat absorbed in her visions. affected the
young man singularly, and seemed 10
almost. steal away MS breath He had
ALWAYS taken his sister as a matter OF
course and had thought little about her
beauty or her charm. Now he apDreci-
ated as Il he had been another man the
subtle enchantment Of her face and man
ner, enhanced al the present moment by
the mystery which surrounded her. Halle
had heard him enter.
Come" she said. He is here. He is
waiting to meet YOU.
VITA chill eaveloDing every member
Of his body the young man advanced and
looked over his sisters shoulder into the
mirror
He saw there the face of man that
oppressed him as being one of the most
attractive and relssuring he had ever
known. II summoned q matter Of fact
ness of speech.
Looks as if he might be a mighty fine
fellow said he brisklg. But its oUd
Of him to make your acquaintance this
way II he wants 10 know yOu why
doesn't he come through the front door2'
Am mad?" querie1 Halle, gently.
We'll said her brother. no more t1an
am. But I'll the same we sail for
Europe the first Of next month"
His sister MADE TO objections, and as
for the a9oarition ii smiled and iook
If expectancy came into its eyes.
The jou-ueE ~ cy Norway is MEAN
ehoiy. The long days pass ike dreams.
ana before the eyes Is ever = sad aid
beautiful succession OF piEes and chilv