The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-10-08
SHARED.

In those benightod days now gone for.
ever, gone 10 the dark Plutonian shore
whence there is no returning, when all
unmarried women were catalogued as "old
maids' and despised accordingly, there
lived q widow, the mother Of an onlt
child, and that child o daughter.
And then, as now, the number ot
daughters outnnmbered bya great many
the number of sons born to man, and fof
the latter there was great scramble, fol
az the lesser could not equal the greater
number many were fated to get left, and
the doom OF the "hindmost" was even then
well understood, and as plague all sought
70 avoid 1t.
And the mothers were as one with their
daughters. Combined were they both In
the pursuit Of husbands for the maIdens,
that the reproach of the unwedded might
not cling unto them. r-ti n
Therefore 1t behooved the mothers e.
make the most Of their daughters. to shake
well their napkins, each and every one,
lest perchance some hidden talent lay un
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.
ters of their neighbors, for such are the
ways Of women when aiding high heaven
in the occult rites Of matchmaking.
But eheu, ehue and alasi 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 sufliceth to turn
the head Of man and inflame 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.
ertiRless 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, tthe Widows mite.p
And 1t 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 tho
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 dot-is dead and 1t availeth nothing
In the matrimonial market where tho
spondulix talketh, proclaiming In loud
voice the merits of Its possessors, and II
enhanceth their attractions o thousand
fold, rendering even the most ordinary OF
aspect more dazzling than the sun at noon.
day.
While IL were better for the portionless
maid had she been born man, for he hath
but to choose, and, behold with tho shekels
of his bride shall his Golfers be filled to
overfiowing, and the fame thereof shall
extend through all the land
Now, the mother of the widows mite,
being woman and sorely distressed, gave
car unto voice that whispered to her and
was guided by 1t, for she recognized 1t as
the voice Of her colaborer against tho peace
Of man, when 1t spoke to her saying:
.'Arise, o woman of little gumption,
and go you into the presence of the con-
firmed bachelor, even him who, because Of
the hatred he beareth to woman for the
evil she hath brought upon man In that
through her ho 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 bo
sought, as the fisher seeketh the flsh In the
sea and the hunter pursueth the nimble
hare.
From tho hardest rock the water gush-
eth forth most freely.
"Seek you, therefore, his assistance even
to the fulfllmont of your laudable desire,
and remember the more difficult the decd
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 1 shall be with you even to the
end lest perohanoe his luck prevail against
you"
and was silent
Then the widow hustled that danger
might not be oourted by delaying. She
clothed herself In twilight tints of mauve
and amethyst, bound her waist with
girdle of Jet and her hair with band of
tho same. for she still lived with the dead,
and saying no word of her scheme to any
one sbe SGT forth to do as she had been
commanded.
But coming to him to whom she had
been sent, unooyering her face, for 1t was
fair to look upon, she opened her mouth
and spoke and tho 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
ooze out at his finger tips and the memory
Ol Ills Bubreu W utphFb iruin Hinl.
And the voice of the woman was as gen.
tie as that of the dove, though her words
were the words of tho serpent.
And the words were these:
"Suffer me little that I may tell you
tho meaning of my coming unbidden be-
fore you. That the object of my seeking
you may not remain hidden and u matter of
conjecture /, who love truth and oandor,
will ayow at once that I am she whom
men hold up to scorn and derision as the
Echeming mother.
"But 1 scheme not as she who aims
through artifloe and fraud at the securing
of husband for her daughter who other
wise would remain In stock until the day
OF tho last inventory.
"But rather that my child that / love,
the only ono tho Lord intrusted TO my
care, may not bs taken from me and
brought to dwell In the land of the
stranger out OF my sight forevermore
But, on the contrary, my wish Is that
ne who is to be her bridegroom may not
continue to live afar off In foreign lands
and seductive cities, but to banish tho love
| of travel from his heart, cease roaming the
world over, both land and sea, and to
| come near, even to the home of his ia
theirs. and settle in peace and harmony