The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1894-08-02
HER DILEMM

Ia and ffu. BACK ana aero lhe iose
be-trewn carpet of the drawing room
in Victoria street fiat swept and rus
tied the laces and silks of Mrs. Yen
ming newest Paris tea gown
What shall l do: Whate1er shall l
do cried Mr., Venning "a, for the
hundrcdth time the writing table barred
her progress and turned her footsteps
back h whore the carved mmulpieee
positively eroaned under il load of
Dresden china. old ivoeos, fr-h roses
and bibelot, If every description
She crossed the white fur rug. and
pausing eaz Il with a self pit2Hg smile
at the pretty profusion thai MT her
Eyes
ROSES at Christmas" she -1ifI aloud
That the text Of the old sermon For
tire three years of my widowhoad I've
had ro,es at Christmas and everything
else To match Laura MarindIa spent
500 when she hung her botl3lr with
French broeades. | ran in debta- many
thousands by doing up my rooms with
old embroideric, suppose she.s got a
receipt for her money have a county
court summons for mine. "
She dropped into the writing chair
and leaned her chin, dimpled and round
rs a baby, in her palms. at >eems 10
be about $50, 900 the horrid people want
from me. can I make it any less, and
I've added everything together dozen
times OF course ! know ! have been
extravagant; but, then, I'm Young
and-not bad looking which was
Mrs Nenning's way of considering her
undoubted bcauty-''and widow into
the bargain. And widows are expected
to be so very smart nowadays
Still the tradespeople should not
have given me such unlimited credit.
All, that's the real root of the whole
matter. The credit system j, the ruin
of women, who like myself, must have
pretty things about them.
Thirty thousand dollars, and most
of it to be paid almost at once, | am
worth-nothing-in cash. Those things
she looked about her luxurious sur
roundings with appreciative cyes-"l
wonder what they would fetch if it
came to sale? paid-at least owe
an awful lot for some of them. But it
mustn't, it shan't come to sale A
rich marriage Now. let me think who
will do
I'd throw the handkerchief Ia Raph
ael Gluckstcin in II moment, and
know he'd positively jump at me, for
the sake of my visiting list and the
country houses | stay at, but that he
would want to pry too much and would
find out at once that when my late hus-
band, Robert Venning, died he only left
$50, 600 behind him and not the 500,
600 year with which society and the
tradespeaple have chosen To- credit me.
Gluckstein wouldn't marry penniiess
woman to attain even the Duchess of
Newland' little dinner parties. "
And so, with crinllcd brows and
slender forefinger that licked off each
victim to Mrs Nenning's charms as he
came i'll view, the prcttirst and most
popular woman i'll town passed before
her minds eye such men as, by their
station or fortune, could alone save her
iiblh HbNlii anu lllitiutldl tiiIIlAlll
The Earl of Wessex She had openly
a month ago, and only week
back his engagement to Il Chicago pork
packers daughter had been announced
Hon. BERTHE Shorthouso was a nice
boy, and his prospects truly grand, but
he had been very wild ON his own ac-
count, and marriage with him might
scarcely be satisfactory-from the point
of view Of the clamorous tradespeople.
The young Duke of Woodford was
highly eligible, but the old duchess
his mother, kept a sharp eye on the lad
and had openly expressed her detesta
ton of widows
The bishop of Barchester was rich
and well preserved man, but, oh, SO
prosy and SO dreadfully intolerant of
tho ways of the world
And SO ON through endless strings of
moths, who had tluttercd round and
burned their silly wings at the fame of
Mrs. Nenning's bright eyes
Suddenly she paused, blushed deli
ciously, then laughed at herself for do
ing So
Its IA dreadful thing to lo - she
said, passing her fingers lightly over her
burning cheeks Il don't know how
such an idea could ever come into my
head y
She opened the blottcr, drew some
dainty monogrammed paper toward her,
and taking pen began hastily to scrib.
BILE a few names across the sheet.
Lord Fordwell, of course. The duke
Il can't help it if his mother doesn't
like it, The boy must marry some day
Fhe bishop of Barchestcr. Gluckstein-
I'll risk him. Colonel Dingwall is a
nice looking fellow, with a comfortable
income, and he was most cpris with me
at Goodwood. Lord Arthur st. John /
will certainly write to- I've not seen
him for year, but | know he is at
Brighton, and he always said if ever !
felt inclined to change my mind he
would only be too pleased. Sir Roder-
iok Mcpherson and BERTHE Shorthousc.
Eight of them.
Fancy woman writing to eight
men to express her perfect willingness
TO marry al y one of them! The only
circumstance that prevents me expiring
with horror at my own temerity is the
fact that all of them have proposed to
me, and in their different ways expressed
n perfect readiness to fall in with my
views if ever l could persuade myself
to reconsider my decision. "
Yet all the time curious hesitancy
mingled with her air Of determination.
Twice she laid her pen on the paper, as
tbDupb m add n ninth unno IN those nj.