The daily Alaskan., 1905-08-28
A TRIPLE
 PICTURE
IorEinall

mentS on ner peduN WAANu NatAcA than waned, and as soon as she could understand anything she knew of her remarkable beauty. lt could only be expected that hearing Of it from baby hood and reminded of 1t every time she looked In the glass, she would be- come conscious of lt She was a good girl, truthful, amlable and full of Kindness. Indeed there was but one blemish resting upon an otherwise estimable person-she became ahSorbei In her own beauty.
 When Bertha was twenty she met Edmond Benedict, man ten years older than herself, and Of strong char actcr. He soon discovered that when ever she forgot her great charm she showed herself a charming woman. At such times he loved her, but no sooner would she lose herself in the contemplation of her features than his feelings for her were cooled. Bertha on the contrary first admired him for his sterling qualities and talents, then he became necessary to her.
 This near approach Co perfection marred only by a single blcmish In the girl he loved, was tantallElng Co the lover. Often when he was with her she would show uninterruptedly the most engaging traits, but if she hap pened to pass a mirror she would be- come in moment frivolous. Al such times he would turn away from her coldly and leave her to herself. She not understanding the cause of his sudden cooling would go Co her room deeply hurt. Such Interruptions to their happiness were, to say the least wearing and at Inst Benedict made up his mind that he must 0nd some device by which to show her that beauty quickly fades, leaving nothing tangible, or be must give Der up.
 Often when coming to call on hts fiance Benedict had found her coutcm. plating her features In a hand mirror. She did not seem abashed at being thus caught. Indeed, at times she would continue to take an occasional glance at herself while converslug. She had grown to womanhood as used Co her beauty as she was Co breathing the air. Why. thcn, should she suddenly grow ashamed Of looking at itl So unconscious of anything amiSs was she that had not the fcastlEg on her beauty chaugcl her nature for the moment her lover would not have objected Co lt It was this change that troubled hlm.
 One sumner evening after dime. Bertha sat In a nook on the piazza screened by a vine waiting for Bcnc- diet He did not come as soon as she expected, and Co pass the time she took up her hand mirror anl began Co look at Ter face. It was certainly an object worthy of contemplation. The curve of cheek and Caiu, the eNquisitely carved lips. teeth white and regular. eyes expressive and lustrous. lushes long and brows fine as SIX these were the individual parts, though the chief beauty was In union og the whole But the poSSeSsor of thls physical love Illness never saw a far greater charm charm that others saw-foT whenever she took up the glass her own honest eNpreSSiOn-the real Bertha-instantly changed for one of vanity.
 Benedict studied how he could show her her own self. but this he could not do directly. He must first give her a realization of the mortality Of physical beauty; then, having ceased to value it, she would see what he wished her to see.
 Bertha sat looking at herself and. though fully conscious as Co why she was admired. wondered why she was loved The twilight was fading. and Stlll her lover did not come Charmed, as she had always been with the sight she saw she gazed on tIn the darkness had so far deepened that her face was no longer visible, then she was about to lower her glass when suddenly there was a fash of light, and she saw in the mirror the face of an old woman. The teeth were mostly gone, the skin was wrlnkled, the hair mingllng of white and yellow. Through the skin there was to be seen traces of the skull, hol low eye sockets, sutures uniting the different bones Of the head. cavities In the jaws from which teeth had been lost. Blended with the features of the old woman and the skull Bertha saw the outlines of her own face. These three in one were visible only for an instant then all was dark as Erebus.
 With a cry the girl fell back in Q swoOn. When she came to herself she was lying on sofa in the house, and bending over her anXiously was her lover.
 "wm 1t come agalnY' she cried in a voice of terror.
 "whaty"
 'The face"
 She told him of her vision. He lis- tened thouEhtfully, and when she had finished asked her to permit him to bring the mirror that she might look to see If what she had seen would come back, but she declared she would never see her face again.
 Weeks after when Bertha had recov- cred from her fright her lover one day, catchinp ono of har nleassuteSt expres-