The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-06-25
DRAWING FOR A HUSBAND.
Twenty Massachusetts Maidens Buy
Chances for a Man.

Chances for a Man.
Sun reporter, coming over from
Philadelphia, fell or was thrown into
conversation with a Chicago drummer.
He might have merely fallen into con-
versation with anyone else, but with a
Chicago drummer he was thrown in, for
a Chicago drummer doesn't let any
passenger on train escape the con-
yersational pool if he can help it, and
he most always does.
by Jove, old man." he said with the
seductive familiarity of all drummers,
that little tale you have just told me
about the summer girls mobbing the
| only man at the hotel isn't patching to
cooperative matrimonial snap ! came
across one time when | was in q section
in Massachusetts where men are SO
scarce that when the girls give party
they have to find man with a search
warrant. There was a wedding at the
biggest church in the town the evening
i got there, and the whole town was
illuminated and everybody was out, as
if there was n Fourth of July ceIebra-
ton going on, and naturally [ asked
what all the row was about. Then the
| landlord of the tavern told me. 1t
| seemed that there were 20 marriage
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,
hnf 30 l., l,
| $4,000 apiece, but that was hardly
enough for the thrifty eligible, so he
| proposed a cooperative matrimonial
| scheme, as | have called it, though She
name isn't exactly appropriate. His
| proposition was that all the girls chip
in So much for a chance at him, no sub
scriE$ion to be less than $500, and eaAIh
subscription of that amount entitltag
the subscriber to at,e ticket, with adfi-
tional tickets at 500 each. The girls
were anxious, the young man desirable,
| and the enthusiasm soon becoITie in
| tense. One girl, who was worth little
more than the others or was morEs anX-
! ious, | don't recall which. blew in s. 900
| on six tickets, and several of tneh3 sd
the drawing there was something over
! $4,000 in the pool and the young man
was pleased to death. The girls, on the
other hand, We're dreadfully nervous
and anxious, for, while the man was a
| sure winner, only one of them was go
| ing to get the man and the pot. Tho
drawing took place in the town haii,
| hara a. admission, Of
charged, the sum to go to 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
tlrn one chance having their names a
corresponding number of times in the
hat-and the name of the young man
with number of blanks in the other.
Then the drawing was made, and at the
/ 18th draw the young mans name came
I out with that of girl who had only
one chance, and, OF course, she was de-
| clared the winner
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, | suppose,
though l 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. | may say though that the
lucky man has made money enough to
agree to pay 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 Civ
up as much as they gave Hmm. Y.
| Sun.