The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-01-09

never thought of age as regards your
mother, and yet l am seven years older
than she is"
ooh, no; mamma is just as young and
beautiful as ever" said The Baby, "
enthusiastically, "and l remember her
for twelve years. No. / think W. no.
tice the advances of age upon ourselves
more than we do on others. | know
that | think of it every day | look in
the glass and recognize that [ am get
ting old"
They all laughed at this, and Maud
had to laugh a little herself, but she
turned it off with:
We'll, this isn't what We were talk
ing about, girls. Jennie you just asked
auntie how it was that she never got
married. Let's hear shout that"
well girls, " said Aunt Jane slowly,
that seems an unanswerable question,
but I'll try to answer it. Perhaps it
was upon the same principal that some
men never get rich no matter how much
they try, it is so ordained that they
shall always be poor, while others reach
wealth and honors, not only without eff
fort, but with positively everything
against them"
well, 1 don't think l made any very
great effort to get my Tom," said Jenny
thougutfully "and, really, when | come
to think of it, Idon't think he has asked
me right out. I believe it was under
stood between Us perfectly before any
thing was said on the subject, and
when we did talk about it l took it as n
matter of course"
Il believe that is the way in a MAORI
tv of cases, " said Aunt Jane, laughing,
and this mythical idea of popping the
question is something that very rarely
occurs. As Jenny says, its all under
stood without it. Now, for myself, I've
been the anne as engaged three or four
times, and yet | never received but one
formal offer in my life"
ooh! tell us all about it, auntie, " said
the three Misses Tibbs, hitching their
chairs up a little closer to Aunt Jane.
well, it's hardly anything to tell,
girls, but if you desire to hear it, 1
must tell it. But to explain what l say
about being engaged without receiving
a formal offer, l viii cite q case or two
within my own experience. My first
when / was seventeen, and, as /
then thought, as much a woman as I
am row. l was spending the summer
on the seashore with my Aunt Margar-
ct, and Aunt Margaret, having made a
successful marriage, financially speak
ing, herself, was intent on having her
neices do the same, for she had no
children, and so every summer she took
to fashionable places, and every winter
to all the balls and parties.
"This particular summer she chose
the seashore, and there [ met Harvey
Gray, who, though seven years my
senior, and who had been travelling for
three years in Europe, was, really, as
innocent as a child. We fell in love, as
it is called, at first sight, and were in
fatuated with each other. OF course,
out of this grew the usual sweet COM
munings, moonlight walks, boating,
gGitaring, singing, and all the newt
able things appertainIng to lovers, ever
since the world began.
Aunt Margaret recognized the mat
ter, and it suited her-too we'll, as I
afterward thought. Gray was rich.
highly connected, handsome and of ir-
reproachable character, therefore a very
desirable match. / say it all suited
Aunt Margaret too well, and Ill ex-
plain that by saying that while men are
always ready to take advantage of being
left by the parents and guardians of the
girl they are in love with alone and
uninterrupted in their wooing, yet
there is such a thing as OVERRIDING this,
so as to raiher turn him against it. He
would really be better pleased with a
little opposition. / think Aunt Margar-
ct slightly oyerdid it.
However, the summer passed, and
we were happy, and ] felt as much en-
gagged to Harvey as though the actual
words had been spoken, and / am as
sure as we can be of anything in this
life that Harvey felt the same way. In
fact we talked freely of what we were
20 do in the future, anG there was moth
ing wanting but the setting Of the day,
when Aunt Margaret stepped in, which
i have always thought was unfortunate,
to say the least Of 1T, for I am a decided
advocate Of early marriages. Well, we
were to start for the city early the next
morning, and for what occurred the
previous evening I am indebted to Aunt
Margaret's own recital. / was detained
in my own room packing, but was to
meet Harvey on the piazza at 8 o'clock.
He was to go with us to the city tie
next day, and l left him after dinner
promenading with my aunt. When I
returned at 8 o'clock, he was not there,
and Aunt Margaret made his apologies
by saying that he was ~indisposed and
had retired. The next day when be
did not appear to 60 with us to the city,
Aunt Margaret was forced to an expla-
nation. She had asked Harvey what
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