The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-07-01
HUNTING A WIDOW.

L..
not seem TO get my mind off the subject
1t was early ia the evening yet, scarcely
O'clock. Should 90 TO the theater. anC
In mimic life forget my own snnoyances
arose, walked TO the window and loOket
out. lt was a cold, disaQreeable night
Pedestrians hurried by, wrapping theil
coats closer about them, while the thou
sand street sounds came to my ar upOT
the frosty air with clear metallic ring.
knew IL must be verv cold. and instructive
ly Iturned back TO the cheerful CRATE an ]
comfortable armchair. II friend would
only drop in. | thought, If any thing
would happen TO relieve the tedium. But
there was no prospect Of ii, so feeling that
/ never could get through the evening
alone / buttoned M my great coat. and
putting on my muffier started out. / had
no definite idea where | was going. but the
secret of all my discomfort was that was
in love with two women.
Don't throw the paper down, dear read.
er. and declare that such a state of affairs
is not within the bounds of possibility. AMI
that deserve to be sent to Salt Lake direct,
whether viii or no.
Don't do that. | say. but let me explain.
Perhaps | wasn't at that moment In love
with two women. but certainly was over
head and ears in love with one. and head
and ears engaged tn another.
Now that certainly was enough to make
peaceful, law-ahiding citizen uncomfort-
able. TO make him afraid of his own
thoughts and still more Of his own actions.
1t came about in this wav. / had two
years before met Julia Leeds. She was a
beautiful girl. had a fortune i'm her own
right. was smart and intelligent, and was
the belle Of the whole city. | net her at
parties, sociables, concerts, operas. every
where, in fact, and after time I had the
extreme satisfaction of learning that was
preferred TO all the crowd of fortune hunt
ers who worshiped at her shrine. And
then it was. in an evil hour. that / pro-
posed and was accepted. Her heart, she
assured me, was in nv keeping, and had
been for very long time. Bless her pret-
ty face and sweet voicei / can almost hear
those musical tones even as write.
| think | believed myself in love with
her, though | do not know that I ever
paused TO speculate upon the peculiar state
of my fee ings.
was young man, good-lOoking-so to
speak-had, fully believed, fair share Of
intelligence. and Julia was beautiful, an
gnlic girl. | had won the prize for which
so many were striving. and was satisfied
and nrOud of the achievement. | did not
think cared any thing about Julia's dol
lars. knew that / would never marry
hOmely or disagreeable woman if she pos
sessed the fortune of the Astors. was GER
tain of that fact. for had been aimed at
by two or three rich women, ugly enough
90 break up funeral, and never hit. So
i knew it was not JRlia's money but
Julia's sweet ways and means of making
herself attractive. And had not doubt
when / asked her to let m" share her f,r-
A,.e -
had not doubt but that loved her to
the fullest extent Of which my nature was
capable.
But it fell out one day. or rather 7 fell
in one day, the company of Kitty Blan-
chard.
did not know who Kitty Blanchard
was. thought at first glance she was a
schoolgirl. Perhaps it was the book she
carried in her little, neatlv-gIoved hand
that gave me the impression, or possibly
it might have been the jaunty little
"jocky" that sat so prettily upon her
head and show,d her glossy, curling hair
TO such advantage. II might have been
the short dress and the sprightly step,
or NAV be the very small and very perfect
ly-fitting boot.
tainly did think she was school girl.
y
at that.
But there was something in the glance
of Kitty's eye and in the words she spoke
though | have no recollection of any
thing she said-that told me very decided
ly that she was far beyond task-masters.
/ went home that night and thought
about her until bedtime and then dream
e. about her until morning. For week |
saw nothing. night or day. but black,
roguish eyes and dancing curlS.
| went TO parties, and theaters, and con-
certs by myself, in hopes OF meeting her.
No use. She wasn't there.
AT last, despairing of ever proceeding
any farther indep ndently. was forced to
inquire of the friend who had introduced
me-a proceeding very distasteful to me,
as did not wish TO advertise nv bust
ness. or in other words give him reason to
suspect was at all interested.
But did ask him who Kitty Blanchard
was, and was sorry for it the next min
ute, for the reply was instantaneous:
"She's widow"
Now, if there was any one thing that |
secretly despised, that | had an unmiti- |
gated contempt for, it was widow. | |
had seen them often-old widows and |
young widows, goodIooking and other |
wise-but they all had that melodramatic |
air about them. had the same way of talk |
ing about the virtues of the dead Mr.. |
PendegraSs, or Shuttlecock, or whatever
the name might be, and insisting that there
never was so kind and good man.
don't know why they do this. never
heard any one say. 1t certainly is not the
bait that would hook me.
But Kitty Blanchard had not once allud-
cd 10 the defunct Adolphus, and had GER
tainlv talked with her five minutes.
wondered how long since the sods were
neatly fitted over his resting place-how
long the little birds had sang his requiem
in the dropping branches of the, etc. |
guess | didn't get any farther than that be
fore recollected that Kitty wore no weeds,
but that she was very bewitching in an
hadn't the ghost of an idea whether her
dress was blue, green or gray. l could
not have told that she wore any dress, only
that | remembered it was short, and that
she had foot that had been nearly crazy
about ever since.
had heard. somewhere, that a lady was
best dressed when you could not remem-
Der single thing she had on. so while
had my doubts about the application Of
that rule to all cases, l was willing TO con-
cede that Kitty Blanchard was the best
dressed woman in the city. And the earth
must have been heaped year over that
silent resting pace-possibly more, for
Kitty, I was certain, differed from the
widows I had known. She didn't move
around in her black robes with cambria
TO her eyes for THREE hundred and sixty
five days, hopping out on the sixty-sixth,
with beaming eyes and pink bonnet.
No, sir knew better than that.
Just then horrible thought took pos
session Of me.
Perhaps the earth had never been heaped,
or fitted; perhaps the little birds had never
been notified about the requiem-perhaps
the deceased Adolphus was still a resident
of this troublesome world.
In that case Kitty was grass widow
and-and didn't like them at all. They
were worse, if possible, than the genuine
article. Never had seen one Yet that
%veSn,r So. Well, l did not know
after all why should he so averse to grass
widows, or. in fact, widows OF any other
So discarded the widow question, and
thought only of Kitty's bright eyes and
ways.