Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-12-12


Mamie L. Hutter in Southern Magazine.
SHARED.
In those benighted days now gone for
ever, gone to the dark Plutonian shore
whence there Is no returning, when all
unmarried women were catalogued as "old
maids" and despised accordingly, there
lived widow, the mother Of an only
child, and that child daughter.
And then, as now, the number Of
daughters outnumbered by.a great many
the number of sons born to man, and for
the latter there was great scramble, for
as the lesser could not equal the greater
number many were fated to get left, and
the doom Of the "hindmost" was even then
we'll understood, and as plague all sought
to avoid 1t.
And the mothers were as one with their
daughters. Combined were they both In
that the reproach Of the unwedded might
not cling unto them.
Therefore 1t behooved the mothers to
make the most Of their daughters, to shake
we'll their napkins, each and every one,
lest perohance some hidden talent lay I'M
productive therein, and to emphasize any
good points whatsoever Of which they
might be possessed, that they might over
shadow and leave in the shade the daugh-
tefs Of their neighbors, for such are the
ways Of women when aiding high heaven
In the occult rites Of matchmaking.
But eheu, ehue and alas In the daugh
ter Of the widow there was naught to
make much Of, neither was there anything
whatsoever to emphasize.
For so deficient was the damsel in all
personal charms and the beauty which,
though but skin deep, yet sufficeth to turn
the head of man and inf1ame his heart
with the unquenchable passion of love, SO
meager Of figure, both physically and
financially, that those given to levity and
the speaking Of idle words, for which new
ertheless strict account must be rendered
hereafter, derided her and jeered at her
among themselves, calling her in con-
tempt, calling her in the pride OF their
greater possessions, "the Widows mite"
And It coming to the ears Of the widow
her heart was exceedingly sad, even as her
brain was puzzled to know what to do as
she contemplated her daughter and the
situation, for verify she realized that the
maid, being like unto her fathers people,
was indeed bankrupt in all graces save
that Of virtue alone.
Now, virtue alone-that is, virtue with
out dots dead, and it availeth nothing
in the matrimonial market where the
spondulix talketh, proclailning in loud
voice the merits Of it's possessors, and it
enhanceth their attractions a thousand
fold, rendering even the most ordinary of
aspect more dazzling than the sun at noon
day.
While it were better for the portionless
maid had she been born man, for he hath
but to choose, and, behold with the shekels
Of his bride shall his Golfers be flied to
OVERLOOKING, and the fame thereof shall
extend through all the land.
Now, the mother Of the Widows mite,
being woman and sorely distressed, gave
ear unto voice that whispered to her and
was guided by 1t, for she recognized 1t as
the voice of her colaborer against the peace
Of man, when 1t spoke to her saying:
"Arise, O woman Of little gumption,
and 60 you into the presence of the con-
flrmed bachelor, even him who, because of
the hatred he beareth to woman for the
evil she hath brought upon man in that
through her he must toll and labor all the
days Of his life, is called the misogynist,
and deceive him as you know how.
"For he who seeketh not must be
sought, as the fisher seeketh the fish in the
sea and the hunter pursueth the nimble
hare.
From the hardest rock the water gush-
eth forth most freely.
'Seek you, therefore, his assistance even
to the fulfllment Of your laudable desire,
and remember the more difficult the deed
the greater the reward and the glory there
unto.
However, be not downcast and let not
your soul be troubled, for all men are
weak, and the weakest are they who are
vain Of their strength, for he who Is In
vulnerable liveth not
And shall be with you even to the
end, lest perchance his luck prevail against
you"
Having spoken thus, the voice ceased
and was silent.
Then the widow hustled that danger
might not be courted by delaying She
clothed herself in twilight tints Of mauve
and amethyst, bound her waist with a
girdle Of Jet and her hair with band Of
the same, for she still lived with the dead,
and saying no word Of her scheme to any
one she set forth % do as she had been
| commanded.
But coming to him to whom she had
been sent, unoovering her face, for 1t was
fair to look upon, she opened her mouth
and spoke, and the man was much bewil-
dered by her words, for the unexpected had
happened, for which he was not prepared,
and at sight Of her his strength seemed to
eoze out at his finger tips and the memory
| Of his hatred to depart from him.
And the voice Of the woman was as gen.
tie az that Of the dove, though her words
| were the words Of the serpent.
And the words were these:
Suffer me little that Imay tell you
the meaning Of my coming unbidden be-
fore you. That the object Of my seeking
! you may not remain hidden and matter Of
conjecture I, who love truth and candor,
will avow at once that am she whom
mon hold up to scorn and derision a. the
scheming mother.
"But scheme not as she who aims
through artifce and fraud at the securing
Of husband for her daughter who other
wise would remain in stock until the day
Of the last inventory.
ssBut rather that my child that love,
the only one the Lord intrusted to my
care, may mot be taken from me and
brought to dwell In the land If the
stranger out Of my sight forevermore.
But on the contrary, my wish IL thai
he who ID to be her bridegroom may moi
continue to live afar on In foreien lands
and seductive cities, but to banish tbs love
Of travel from his heart cease roaming ths
world over, both land and sea, and h
rn,,,a ,,oar AVIAN IN tho home Of hia Il