The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1917-12-13
%. My %.
Other Self
By ESTHER VAVlDEVEER

1 live alone with my servants. a wo- |
man cook and a h~ouseniaid. l am
fifty years old. tall for a woman and
with grizzly gray hair. | wear glasses. |
and as l have trouble with one eye the
glass before that eye is colored a light
amber.
These details are necessary to an un-
Of an incident l am about |
to relate.
One afternoon-or rather evening. |
for the day was fading-l went home
after shopping, opened the front door
with my latchkey and went upstairs to
my room. The door was open, and a
woman was standing before the mir
o Of the bureau powdering her face.
l saw her reflection in the glass, and
what was my establishment to see my
self. II l had any doubt the woman
was l, it was dispelied by seeing that
enc of a pair of glasses she wore was
colored and was amber.
While I was gazing at her she sud-
denly caught sight of me. and her face
took IN the same expression as mine.
She was apparently as much aston
ished at seeing me as l was at seeing
her. Indeed. she caught at the bureau
for support. felt very much like
catching at something for support N.Y.
self, but 1t occurred to me that | had
better keep a grip on myself and re-
tain my faculties that l might find out
what this strange occurrence meant.
Nevertheless l will admit that l was
obliged to make a great effort to do SO.
"Who are you?" l stammered.
"Who are youY" asked The other,
looking ready to faint.
II am Wilhelmina Buntling."
mo. no. no." gasled the woman.
You cannot be. l am Wilhelnina Bunt-
hing. Go away! Do. please. 60 away!"
strained my eyes to discover some
want Of resemblance between the wo-
man and myself. 1t was shortly before
the time for lighting the lamps. and
Of curse l could not distinguish mi
nor parts as we'll as if | had seer her
at monday, but she was my height and
build. had the anne grizzly cray hair
Is l. with two short curis III each tenn
pie. But more convincing than all else
was the amber colored glass before her
left eye. And yet | doubt If this was
mor staggering than the fact that the
woman seemed to be even mare appall-
ed at seeing me than l was ut seeing
her.
The first explanation that occurred to
me vas that l had been stricken with
some brain trouble. But ! Tad been
feeling as well up to the very moment
I saw this strange reflection at myself
ss l had ever felt in my life. And not
withstanding its appearance l now felt
myself to he in a perfectly normal
condition. | was conscious also that
this womau was not Il shade. lit a per
son Of flesh and blood. i'erli@::.s it was
this consciousness that enabled me to
get my first grip on myself. | began to
throw off the idea that | It'd brain
trouble Or d%isordered vision Or any
,thing Of a physical nature that would
cause me to see a double me. The wo-
Man's actions in that 8 should be an
exact duplicate Of mine. They were
not. Her motions were not in unison
with mine, though they were similar to
M1ne.
Next came a suspicion that my dou-
Ne was playing me-. As DOR al I got
cpntrol of my faculties l began to see
that her actions were not altogether
spontaneous. There was something
forced In them. In other words. I real
tged that she was acting q part. At
least I suspected she was. had no
theory a to what would induce her to
% this. It simply seemed to mo that
sAe did It.
AZ questions.
when did you come here7" l asked.
4 anne in about half an hour ago"
Where from!'
q had been-shopping.~
ahe hesitated before speaking the
lGtt word. 1t seemed to me that she
wls celebrating what answer to make
Il my question. But | had been shop
ring myself, and the reply tended to
A~tsconcert me. However,, by this time
he woman had recovered some of her
e4uanimity and seemed to me to b
tracing herself for an examination. It
stddenly dashed upon me that her ap-
n4arance In my house was for a pur-
Rose. Quickly withdrawing. l stepped
back into tho hall and. pulling the door
sitter me. locked 1t.
Whatever had been the woman's Oh
5ect-if indeed she were a real woman
aud had an object-she was a prisoner.
Tor there was but door to my bed
rsom. and there was no means for her
escape. I staggered to the telephone
and. calling q friend. told my story,
somewhat incoherently. It is true, but
managed to make her understand me.
She came right over and after satisfy
ing herself that l was Of sound body
and mind advised me to send for tho
police.
Well. the upshot Of the matter was
that the woman had seen me buying
jewelry, Of which I Am fond. though !
seldom decorate myself with it. and. no.
Acing u similar personal appearance.