Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-10-01
MAID OR MATRON |?
A Very Strange Story.
A Tucson Lady Weeds q Dying Man.
4 Grave QsettIon, Whether She is HaId
 Widow.

i Grave QsestIon, Whether She is s hziI or Widow.
 Tucson IS not much given to romance
 of a startling or sensational nature. 8nC
 its gos.ips, for every city confertes tn,
 possession of such mischievOus element
 have for many months been compelled
 to turn anew memory's pages and opeI
 old wounds upon which to feRst. Tel under their very eyes there has trans
 pired a concatenAsion Of events, strange
 in their detail, yet comparatively harm,
 less in their results.
 A young lady of Tucson, who has un.
 folded and developed the bud Of prom ised lOyehness into a blossom of rare
 beauty III this sun-kissed land, IS the
 subject of this imperfect record of Bbso-
 lute facts The atoms of carbon com
 posing the FRoer, No. 2, of the writer,
 would scarcely adhere to paper On which
 this Is written were hs to neglect to say
 that she Id possessed of classic brow, |
 clear cut, expressive face, of surpasHing
 lovelIness; full. ripe cherry lips, which
 the hOuey bee might be pRrdoned for
 mistgking for half-Open8d morning
 glory, and mass of raven ringlets, tue
 sport of every passing breeze. Her
 lustrOus eyes Of midnight blRckness
 sparkle with edeTvescing mir.b, and
 beam with rSTe intelligence. Indeed she
 is most loving and lOveAble lass, an armful of eIstacy; thing of beauty and a joy forever.
 And her name is--no; even that must not be told, just at present. for she ys. resides in this pueblo, the same chaste, happy creature Rs before she became wife and widow at the same moment. For present purposes she may be called Belle Butteroup, just because thnt doesn't sound at all like her real name. Last summer, when the deserts of ArI- ZOnR were scOrchIng under an ardent tropical sunshine, but before the wash outs made travel by rall at all uncertain, this young lady made visit to her for mer home in one or the beautiful cities of California. There she renewed ac- quaintRDces begun in childhood aud vas the central attraction of gay, social cen ters, her sparkling ylvAclty and personal charms attracting all fashionable besuI. Among her old-tlme acquaintances was A gentleman bachelor in easy circum- stances, mlddle-Rged, but not particu- larly favored in personal appearance. ] He was not what may be termed lady's l man, although considered quite a catch | among the bellies. ThIs gentleman soon 1 yielded to the irresistible charms of | Miss Buttercup and became hOpelessly ! entangled in the web of Iufatuation sur l rounding the wIll-o' the-wisp. He bent | his knee to her within two weeks after . her arrival ill that city, and asked her hand m marriage. Not dreaming of | such serious step, the young lady | kindly out firmly rejected hIs passionate but still with hope he about the object of his love, trusting that time might bring a change in his favor. Alas how darkened to human vision Is the kaleidoscope ot the future. The gentleman, while in the of full health aud vigor, was a few days later riding on horseback with party of friends, and his spirited animal stumbled and threw him violently to tle ground, giving him in the fall an Eck which produced injuries that the surgeon pronounced fatal. He consciousness and was in- 'ormed that but one short hour still re- nHlned of this life for him, and he Ihould improve that time in a proper disposition of his worldly effects. He to his side the object of his ieep affections and mplored her h iOlemn tones t. wed him in his dying lOurs that she might at least receive .he bOuntiful wealth at his disposal and bless his last moments. His relatives objected strenuously Co such q mad act, md interposed every obstacle to its until he begged so piteously hat they at last yIelded if young But .ercup would give her consent. which he finally dId, very reluctantly. A WAS summoned md the words were said which made the tTsIn ons iesh. Just ss the words were said them man and wife, one of he witnesses cried out, "my God he is ieadr The physician in attendance examined the unfortunate gentleman and decided that life had been extinct for several minutes. and testified that death occurred before the ceremony was concluded, which thereby, according to the deci- sion of 6 committee Sf arbitration selected by Miss Buttercup on one side and the relatives and heirs of the gen tleman on the other in their contest for his fortune. rendered the ceremony nugatOry and of no avail, and the young ady abandoned the suit.
 Miss Buttercup thereupOn returned 70 per home in Tucson, after the obsequies, there long enough to cause bis grave to be marked with proper marble tablets. She did not assume the customary garb of mourning, hardly knowing whether she WAS still maid pr natron, and inssmuch as she had evidenced no particular affection for her husband so strangely acquired she till wears the cheerful and happy look is before, and fits about like the lovely that knows no grief or care. She is still uncertain ss to who she is-- Miss Buttercup or Mrs. -. She foes not particularly relish the spella- ion of Mrs. at sixteen years Ot age, lor does she care to plsce herself in slse position before the public. Let he gOssips decide the question.