Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-16
A SWEETHEART AT THIRTY
The Story Of Woman's Transformation
BY MARION RUBINCAM.
Protected by George Mat thew Adams.


Chapter III.
Self-rcvelation begins with looking
glass
Most women spend lot of time before
glass-a statement that will please most
cynical minded men. Few Of us spend
enough time--or, rather, spend the time
before the glass to the best advantage.
No man will agree with me iii that, |
know, but nevertheless il is true.
As is usual with most fairly busy
women, looked in the glass about twice
| day-once in the morning when | comb
ed nv hair, and pinned on the collar of
my housedress; once at night when took
out the hairpins before going to bed.
But never saw myself in the mirror while
performing these mechanical motions
that is, looked at my reflection, tuck
ed in some of the wisps of hair that the
hair pins did not catch, and fixed the
collar straight but | never actually saw
| myself.
Not until the day when all this great
change began TO take place
That day, carrying the mended cur
tains over my arm, | stopped off in my
own room. and deliberately walked over
to the mirror looked actually looked
long and critically and impersonally at
myself. This is what | saw
A sparse woman with somewhat bent
shoulders, straight hair so colorless and
so without life or sustre that IT might
be gray or n muddy brown-lt had no
real color. Fine lines ran over the fore
head, and around the eyes. The mouth
sagged; there were coarse pores visible
on the nose Two deep lines were craven
around the mouth; the lips were colorless
and dropped at the corners with sug-
gestion of eternal disappointment. There
were lines on the neck too, especially
where the tight collars | always wore on
my black serge, pressed against the skin.
Whatever figure | might possess was
SO lost under the ill-fitting cheap house
dress, that no definite lines were visible.
Altogether the woman who presented
herself to me in the glass might have been
might have been 55. She was so color
less that not even her age was definite.
And this was l. two days past my
thirty-ffth birthday
As | turned. another image came
into the glass Violet, entering the room,
saw me and laughed Then slipping up
behind me, she put her chin on my shoul-
der and looked in the glass with me. Her
youth and vitality only made me seem
older
You've nice eyes, Aunt Enid. she
said They look so young.
had not noticed my eyes in my scru-
tinv looked agaln-yes, my eyes were |
young They were the only remnant Of my |
youth left ewes Of golden brown But |
whatever pleasure | felt Of discovering |
my one good point was lost in detection |
over tho bad ones Violet guessing this. |
land down her books and helped me with |
the curtains.
"Its nice to be Young, Vi" said |
to her She paused in her work-she was |
standing on char slipping the fresh /
curtains over their brass rods
Its not nice 10 be too young she |
said
Why It's fault soon enough over
come. and sighed as said il
tWcIl, il would be nice % hc a year or I
50 older Violet urged Mother says |
| NJ too Young - 90 out alone with Bud. /
and that she doc~n { want me u get any /
notions in my head about him, or any
ono else
And YOU shouldnt ] always tried |
to back up Esther words
/ don { care about the Others. only |
about Bud. Violet, having carefully Al |
ranged the clean curtains jumped light |
III from the chair II III never like any one |
but Bud You may smile il YOU want, |
and SAY nj too young 70 know-but m /
not Besides, illogically, I'm not Young
II N nearly IS, and I'm to graduate this
June
This suggested another subject at
once Violet hoped from topic TO topic,
like a conversational bird.
Il want Won to do lots and lots e drawn
work on my dress, she said eagerly
: y on viii. won't yon2 That s a dear.
YOUR the best aunt Her quick moving
little hands We're tucking IN stray locks
Of halr as she coaxed me ''Mother will
let me have the white voile she bought
last wear and never made up and q love
N white ribbon sash And you re to do
on it, III squares III sho@y you
how | want H.
We gathered up the curtains and
went on with our work while she dis
clsSed her dress and Young Bud Pearsoll |
alternately In no time at all Esther 5
voice came up TO us.
supper 5 ready.
So We went down together, TO the
table set II one side Of the big farmhouse |
kitchen. jim was there. already eating,
and James, waiting for US Esther was
dishing things from the stove Laura, |
,Ae oldest girl. was not home As We sat |
j Own, began to observe my family -hav
ing begun to observe myself
We al looked as though We had let
20 Of he. We older ones-and VIC had
For life had once held out It's hands to |
Us as il does TO every one at some time
Or other-but we had not had imagina-
ton enough TO take her gifts Was it too |
ate2 This ! was 10 find ont
Tomorrow More About the Family. |