The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-12-09
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
HOW AGGTE MAY WASHED HER SOIII q
Human Little Tale of Sensitive Child, Which Contains
Warning to Overzealous Parents.
!GGIGL!IlIGJt sttittJtGlIGJIG!GEI
By GRACE SALINGER.

horror. rs it written in very big and
black letters?" she asked.
Very big and black" answered her
aunt.
Don't you fink it will ever come
Off" queried Aggie May anxiously.
81 should say not" answered her
aunt, "it's so black"
Aggie May shivered. She slowly
climbed down from her chair her fat
legs hardly bearing the weight of her
trembling body.
ooh, Aunt Mag" she pleaded, tear
fully, "the dirt on my finger coined off
when I washed it yesterday Don't you
reckon I can wash this OFF,"
Il don't know said her Aunt Mag,
thoughtfully. This is not your finger,
you know; it's your soul"
But you said it was my forehead"
said Aggie May, with CLEAN of hope.
1T shines through" answered her
Aunt Mag. IF you want to rub it off
you'll have to wash your soul"
Aggie May turned her small face
toward the open door Here was a
problem She must think. Where was
her soul?
Out there in the garden and beyond,
everything spoke of the goodness of
God. 1t was only here in this room.
that a blackness brooded-the black
words on child's brow shining
through from a childs soul, which
must be cleaned. With little quick
breath of determination she raised her
small clenched fist in defiance. OF
what! An unseen relentless foe that
!, hedged her in. Her mind was made
up. She should defy God. She would
wash her soul.
She ran quickly down the path,
across the meadow, into the orchard
Beneath the apple-tree Aggie May
gave way to the full horror of her mis-
cry and despair How could she reach
her soul? Her hands moved restlessly
over her chubby body. Where was her
soul? She had certainly heard it men-
toned before, but no one had ever To-
Gated it exactly. 1t couldn't be in her
stomach, she knew that, because hadn't
Aunt Mag said the blackness shone
through on her forehead? Certainly!
Of course! How stupid she was! 1t
was in her head, underneath her hair.
But how was she to get at it?
Again the complication of circum.
stances appalled, her. Clearly the first
thing to do however, was to cut off
her hair. After that she might scratch
little hole right back of the forehead
md get it out. The operation sounded
painful, and at heart Aggie May was
coward. She decided that to crop the
golden tresses might be efficacious.
After that she would go down and hold
her head in the brook all day. Maybe
the water would soak in. She started
back to the house. Obviously the first
thing to do was to get pair of scis-
sOrs and some soap.
Aggie May crept softly into her
mothers room 1t was empty, with
ler work-basket lying just within Aggie
Nays reach. She turned back to the
orchard triumphantly. BY night her
soul should be clean.
Without regret, without remorse, Ag-
gle May shipped diligently at her gol
den curls-the pride of her mothers
heart, the pest of her own. If soul
washing included the Joy of Kidding
1ne's self of long hair that would tan
gle, and would attract little boys like
dies to molasses, she submitted cheer
fully to the sacrifice. Nevertheless, it
was very hard task to accomplish,
and Aggie May pricked her scalp many
times during the process. But at last
she laid down her shears triumphant,
triumphant, while at her feet lay a lit
tie cleaning mass like tangled sun
beams
Through the orchard, over the mead
ow, into the cool darkness of the
woods Aggie May sped. The brook was
deep in the heart of the forest, and she
had never been there alone before, but
she knew theway. Under the dim aisles
of quiet trees the child ran swiftly,
now in one direction, now another, un-
til in a maze of bark and trunk she
stood, great fear rising in her heart.
Where was she?
How long she had wandered about |
she could not tell, but the woods were
growing strangely still and black with
a solemn stiffness and brooding dark
ness that lent new strength to the |
childs fast-failing limbs. She was |
hungry and the chill breath of the
forest was beginning to pierce her |
thin cotton dress. She wanted her |
supper and she wanted her mamma
But she went on determinedly. The
brook must be found.
III.
Mrc SanpSter stood at the door