The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-06-26
A PECULIAR LOTTERY.
Chances for Husband Bought by
Massachusetts Maidens.
The Only Manageable Man In Town
Captured by the Poorest of Twenty
Young Women Who Drew for
Him-A Drummer's Story.

"A DUN reporter, cunning over 1IOlu
Philadelphia. fell or was thrown into
conversation with a Chicago drummer.
He might have merely fallen into con-
versation with anyone else, but with
Chicago drummer he was thrown in, for
Chicago drummer doesn't let any
passenger on a train escape the con-
versational pool if he can help it, and
he most always does.
"By Jove, old man." he said, with the
seductive familiarity of all drummers,
shat little tale you have just told me
about the summer girls mobbing the
only man at the hotel isn't a patching to
cooperative matrimonial snap came
across one time when / was in section
in Massachusetts, where men are so
scarce that when the girls give party
they have to find man with search
warrant. There was a wedding at the
biggest church in the town the evening
got there, and the whole town was
illuminated and everybody was out, as
if there was Fourth of July celebra-
ton going on, and naturally I asked
what all the row was about. Then the
landlord of the tavern told me. 1t
able young women in the town and only
one man, and he was so poor that he
was afraid to venture, being thrifty as
most Yankees are and not caring to
assume obligations without correspond
ing capital. The girls were well-to-do,
that is to say, they were worth $4,000 or
$4,000 apiece, but that was hardly
enough for the thrifty eligible, so he
proposed cooperative matrimonial
scheme, as 1 have called it, though the
name isn't exactly appropriate. His
proposition was that all the girls chip
in so much for chance at him, no sub
scription to be less than $500, and each
subscription of that amount emitting
the subscriber to one ticket, with addi-
tional tickets at 500 each. The girls
were anxious, the young man desirable,
and the enthusiasm soon become in
tense. One girl, who was worth little
more than the others or was more anX-
ious, don't recall which, blew in 81 600
on six tickets, and several of them had
more than one chance. On the day of
the drawing there was something over
$4,000 in the pool and the young man
other hand, were dreadfully nervous
and anxious, for, while the man was q
sure winner, only one of them was 60
ing to get the man and the pot. The
drawing took place in the town hall,
where an admission of ten cents was
charged, the sum to go to a consolation
fund to be distributed among the 10
unsuccessful ones. The drawing was
conducted by the town officers, and was
very simple, the names of the girls be-
ing put in one hat-those who had more
than one chance having their names
corresponding number of times in the
hat-and the name of the young man
with a number of blanks in the other.
Then the drawing was made, and at the
18th draw the young mans name came
out with that of girl who had only
one chance, and, of course, she was de-
clared the winner.
1.-THE wedding two months later was
the event of the season, and, as strange
as it may seem to you, this was one of
the cases of lottery where both drew
prizes, for they lived very happily, and
are still living that way, 1 suppose,
though haven't seen them in ten years.
Another odd thing about it was that the
unsuccessful ticket holders seemed to
take proprietary interest in the
couple, and they have a reunion every
year and call for an accounting, though
they never ask for dividends on their in
vestment. I may say though that the
lucky man has made money enough to
agree to nav to each of the contributors
$1,000 on her marriage, and up to the
last time heard from them he had paid
$4,000. Three or four of them are in
maiden graves, however, and the
chances are he will never have to give
up as much as they gave Hmm. Y.
Sun