Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1909-08-12
A WISE DEDUCTION,
Rx +. A. Mitchell.
copyright. 1909. by American Press Asso-
citation.


named Kalaidjlen. II great philosopher.
who spent years IN hunting for the
source of evil At last he settled down
to the cont fusion that nj the trouble
I'm the world came from Honun's van
ity. Kalaidjcn about the time he
made this discovery was presented by
his wife with daughter. He gave
orders that the child should be brought
up with limited number of conpan-
ions and attendants. none OF whom
should ever refer to her personal ap-
pearance and on no account should she
ever be allowed to look upon her face
in mirror.
Moira-that was the child's name
grew up to be very beautiful w"m-
an. BY and by young man came
counting her. or rather asked for her
from her father. To the request tho
latter replied:
Years of study. Tatios"-that was
the suitor's name-"have convinced me
that the source of evil Is In w0nanS
vanity For that reason have guarded
nv daughter that this fendish spirit
should not be permitted to enter into
her. No one has ever her that
she is beautiful. nor has she ever seen
her face reflected. She shall be your
wife on your promise to carry out this
policy which | have begun"
The lover consented. and the couple
were married. The brides mother at
the time of the wedding secretly pre-
scented her daughter with II mirror: but
hoping to avert the consequences
against which Kalaidjien had so long
guarded. she told MORA that whenever
she looked into II she would see her
mothers face rs it would appear in
heaven. Shortly after the wedding the
mother died. and the daughter found
the mirror an inestimable treasure.
The mother IN order to insure the So
cret Of It's possession being kept. had
told her that If she revealed II she 1.-THE
motherI would grow old and ugly In
heaven anC be cast out into hell. MORA.
greatly dreading such consequence.
carefully hid the mirror In secret
drawer In her cabinet. only opened by
key which she kept on her person.
Once month her husband was
obliged to go to n distant city on bust
ness, and then Moira would take ont
her mirror and rorerently feast her
eyes upon her mother in paradise,
Meanwhile Tatios kept up the sur
yeillnnce over his wife that her father
had instituted In western countries
this would have been impossible. but
not SO IN the east. where every man Is
master OF his own household. Under
the influence of II beautiful face which
looked out NJ her from the mirror af-
fectionatciy MORA every year grew
spiritually more and more beautiful,
though physically she passed her
prime like other women, and her phys
ica beauty began 10 wanc. But 81
saw only in her reflected face the spr
itual and did not recognize the decay
of the physical
When Tatios was about to go on one
Of his Journeys he decided To take h ;
wife with him. MORA, fearing for the
safety of her treasure. locked II IN
box and. taking ii to Il tempe. gave II
return. 1t happened that TatioS saw
her 90 ont and. being suspicious. rol-
lowed her aud watched her carry the
box into the temple. He said nothin;
at the time, but broodcd over the Sc
cret which his wife had apart from
him and on her return to his home
went to the temple and demanded the
,i,.., IL n.l
one but her who had left II. so TatioS
demanded that she 90 to the temple
and open the box before him.
MORA was in agony that her mother
could look ut her no longer and. be-
coming ugly. would be cast out of
heaven. She told her husband her
secret and. MS he was unmovable. went
with him to the temple and gave him
the box with the key. and. opening it,
he took ont the mirror. Knowing that
all the care he had for many years
exercised had been aborted. he was in
great anger.
woman" he said, YOU have been
looking at your own face When you
first saw II II was young aud beautl-
fui. Now it Is old and faded. Look,
undeceived by your fancy, and So"
that what ! tell You is true
MORA. convinced that she was look
ing at her own reflection. ceased to see
IN 1t Il spiritual beauty. viewing only
the image Of an old woman. An"ereh
with her husband that he should have
spoiled the charm. she cursed him.
At this point the priest said to the
husband:
"Oh. Tatios. You have been acting
on the assumption that evil has lis
source in the vanity of woman. Look
rather within myself Believing that
her good mother looked down upon her
from heaven. your wife has been kept
pure In the contemplation of her own
image. 1t IL the use made of beauty.
not beauty itself, that brings good
or evil and mans mastery Of #. for
mans selfish desires must always bring
evil You have destroyed II source of
good within your wife. and she has
cursed YOU"
The husband. seeing what he had
done. bowed his head and begged for.
giveness Of his wife. She for"ave him
through the influence Of her past con
temptation Of the good Ms seen through
the beautiful. But the spell! had been
broken The wife. no longer sustained
by the mother who had so long looked
ut her from heaven. ut times gave way
to the peeyishnesS of age. and her hus-
band saw that the inestimnblc treasure
he had thrown away was not to be re-
covered. Yet from that time under the
Influence of n new DhilOsODhy he was