Norwich bulletin., 1916-03-23
WHEN JOHN FORGOT

self like a panel picture-a full bos- omed shape. in perfect blue, with a vivid face, dark-eyed, carmine touch ed frame by rich dark hair and a very beautiful. The most perfect woman in the room-perhaps even in the whole town. Hitherto she had always been glad of her books and had taken every reasonable means to preserve and enhance them. She had felt that as far as she was considered beauty was a1moet everything, and yet every one of these women was impressing upon her the fact that beauty was of so little moment that | furnished. the outside needed no at- tention. What was beauty Miss | Shopland was telling her with delicate | coRcisness that beauty was mere | garment which faded, wore out, fell | away and left the soul naked. God | pity the soul that could not bear this unveilingl On the other hand, intel | lect was light. Set light within the | ugliest vase and straightway the vase | glowed with loveliness. Even the | charm of this room depended upon light Take light away and no dun geon could be more unrevealed.
 With every passing moment Edith
 Bland grew more uncomfortable At
 last she became actually miserable.
 She could not bear the sight of that
 panel picture of herself. She felt empty, disillusioned, unworthy. What | was her beauty worth so long as she
 lacked wisdom? Her thoughts went | back to her innocent childish vanities,
 to her later conquests, to the time
 when John appeared and first told her that she was beautiful Would he
 have loved her if she had not had
 those eyes and that mouth? She shivered. Suppose she lost her beau l ty by accident suddenly, would he still | love her? If that was all of her he | loved would he not cease to love her
 when he saw her growing faded. old? l Suppose that the thing was begin
 ming to happen alreadyi That morn ing something had occurred. Her
 breath all but stopped. He had not kissed her good-by! She had not thought about it at the moment, but now she remembered with fear. And there were other times and other things which seemed to gather i'm portance in this new light she was gaining. For eighteen years she had
 been fearless wife and a happy wo-
 man; she had been satisfied with her
 self and content with what life
 brought her. Now she was no longer
 satisfied. Her beauty was going.
 Gray hairs and lines were coming.
 She was changing. And since beau ty was but a garment that sooner or later would wear out and leave her true self revealed, she must expect to lose what the garment alone had won ! and kept for her-her husbands love. After the meeting they crowded round her and asked her to become a member. She shook her head weari- . ly, 'I don't know enough" was all she
 could say. Then she tried to get away. But Mrs. Armitage trotted be- side her, talking fast about Miss i, Shopland's paper.
 ! They parted at the Armitage house 2 and Edith went to her own. She shut f the door softly behind her and as soft V ly scudded up to her room. She want . ed to be alone, to think, to get bacl f her balance if possible. She laid hel hat and coat on the bed. Then sudden h ly she fell forward beside them anC
 covered her face with her hands. l. A sound aroused her presently. sSh' t looked. The door was open and gohl = stood there smiling in upon her. O "Tired?" he inquired. Meeting tot if much for you? Guess you found 1 s harder work being intellectual thar s playing whist, didn't your"
 V She stood up. T couldn't be intel
 lectual if I tried" she said solemnly - She was thankful she was not a cry r ing woman. If she had tears on he . face she could not comfort John S e calmly.
 fl No, you couldn't. And I'm glad O = it." John said. He walked over to tn 1t glass, peered in, and took up he - brush. "Ede, do you notice how thil O my hair is getting on Dp?"
 
 Ie Tonic NonsenseI What goo , would that do? I'm getting old, that m all. You must make up your mind [
 have an old fellow for a husband fror if now on."
 ,e She went close to him. John, IT 1t getting old, too. Pm getting gra is hairs" Her breath paused on a sol i- He put his arm about her and kisse i'm he. That's what I forgot this morn ts ing" he said. 'TTo tell the truth, Tv sd been harassed lately, but everything st cleared up now. Besides that, I had ,s bit of good luck today - some none ,h paid in I'd given up looking for. 1- you like we can go to the city for ,t few days. The children are all rigl of with Eliza, ain't they?"
 es "Oh, John," Edith said She pl x- her arms around his neck and laid ht CT face up against his square chin. "Yo 1d don mind my being just as am. ( of you?"
 He laughed. ~Pd mind if yc m wasn't" he said. T was afraid you ry catch an intellectual germ over the H. among the highbrows this afternoo hs Look into the glass. darling. and s, in the handsomest woman in Westmore- he and the best loved"
 nd And rhe happiest now" Edith sal m with her old bright look of conten of ment coming back.-Exchange.