El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-24
No. 7
Rose Light
- A WOMAN of 80 who still re-
~ tanned much of her youth

tanned mUcn OIL HeA SOOSH
= fulneSs
She put down the book and crossed
over to the mirror
a woman of 80 who still retained
much of her youthfulneSs
Who still retained. 1t was exceptional,
then-a thing out of the ordinary-un-
usual enough to receive special mention.
And she, she who was 80. had deluded
herself into believing that she was
young-yOung; that she retained not
much of her youthfulness but all of it.
With pitifui eagerness she examined
| the face in the glass, but there was
no trace Of age. 1t might be the face
of woman OF %, possibly 25-surely
no more.
Her Heart gave a glad bound, and
she smiled a triumphant little smile.
But smiles are treacherous, and this
one releaved many lines that had not
shown with her face in repOse
Again she smiled, a smile that now
! had in it nothing of joy or mirth.
mere facial grin, to bring out the lines
| once more Around the eyes and mouth,
mercilessly she traced each 1ine-the
! inevita5 bic signs of age. Then. still
keeping the distorting grin, with the
/! aid of a hand glass she examined her
! profile. Tney showed even more plain
: " from the side, those lines around
the face of a woman of 20, but of 80,
even So.
The Vision 1t Brought.
With a sick heaviness in her heart
she turned from the mirror. Middle
age The thing that seemed so far OFF.
| was upon her. Middle age. The mere
words brought up visions of countless
, that showed so pitifully the dying Of
youth.
! And now she, too, had joined that
vast throng of women no longer young
| Each day would bring a gradual fading
and whitening. With each day the
/ lines around the eyes and mouth would
| grow deeper, the contour of her face
less rounded. Angles would come where
curves had been.
| The hopelessness, the inevitableness
| of it all swept over her with sickening
| force. With sob of intolerable pain
! she covered her face with her hands.
But she must not cry-she said il
aloud over and over. No. she must not
cry for tears do much toward hasten
! ing age; they deepen the lines. dim
/ the eyes, and are an expensive luxury
! to any woman. Instead, she would lie
| down and try to sl5ep; perhaps that
would freshen her.
It was only 8; she could rest an hour,
and still have time to dress before he
! came at 8. But when she rose an hour
| later it was with the feeling OF wearl-
| ness and depression that comes when
, one has sought sleep in vain.
| Her toilet had always been a matter
! to which she devoted much time ana
skill, and this afternoon she gave to il
| even more than her usual anxious care.
| When she mad finished her last glance
at the mirror it was with a little sigh
:. of relief.
The Stage Is Set.
In a soft lavender gown, her hair
! skillfuIly arranged, the tiny fines
around eyes and mouth carefully con-
cealed with powder. and just a touch of
rouge on lips and cheeks, she looked
| 10 years younger.
In the library she drew down the
blinds and turned on the rose shaded
| lights. There was not q light in her
| apartment that was not carefully
| shaded with rose silk.
1t was still 20 minutes TO 5. She
walked around the room restlessly,
| drew forward the chair she would sit
becoming angle. and gave many need
| less little touches to her hair by the
| mirror over the mantel.
The book she had been reading lay
| open, down on the table. She picked it
! up, her eyes instantly found the phrase,
! "A woman of 80 who still retained much
| of her youthfulness''- She threw down
the book and took up a magazine For
! several moments she turned tie pages,
| seeing nothing at all. Then a para
| graph stood out clearly:
| Mr.. Crawford. pushing aside his coffee
| and rolls, frowned irritably over his
! mail. For a moment his eyes rested
| on his wife with a feeling almost OF
| distaste. Her hair was hurriedly ar
ranged, her morning gown no longer
| fresh. and her face was Enthusiastically
! saIlow and lined. The sunlight that
| shone in so brightly seemed to take a
malicious pleasure in bringing out all
the little defects and lines in her face.
| And three months ago he had thought
! her beautiful. But then, he reflected
| grimly, three months ago he had never
seen her in the morning.
| HE crammed the letters into his
pocket, pushed back his chair
! The magazine fell to the floor Had
| he ever seen her in the morning Had
! he ever seen her at all except after a
| most CAREFUL toilet-under rose colored
| lights, or in the street under becom-
| ing veil? Did he know that she had
| thin eyebrows, sallOw skin and lines
| around her eyes and mouth? Did he
| know how homely she looked. how
| large her features seemed with her