Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-06-12
WON A WIFE.
NArAz. South Africa.


NArAxs eouth Africa.
NJ DnAR AuNT-Accept my sympathy n
your los. Although my acquaintance with
yourself and my late uncle was limited to the
exchange Of an occasional letter. l was sincere
" sorry to hear from you Of his death. ! also
regret to learn that you and YOU daughters
arc wholly unprovided for. A your nearest
relative ! feel some responsibility In your well
fare and have therefore thought out o plan
whereby you may be relieved OF all anxiety
concerning your future. The matter being one
which IL is easter to discuss verbally than by
letter, l have instructed . friend Of min at
present In England to call upon you immedi-
eteiv and place my proposition before you.
His namo is Mr.. George Chillingworth.
RALPH w~EsrBRooK.
The letter 20 long expected In the little
suburban villa had come at last, and In
the afternoon of the same day the maid Of
all work announced Mr.. George Chilling
worth.
"You expected me, I believe" he said.
eyes" answered Mrs. Durant. Let
me introduce you to my eldest daughter.
Dora. These are Minnie and Grace. Will
you take the armchair, Mr.. Chilling
WORTH"
sI'm sure it's very kind Of You to have
come SO promptly" continued Mrs. Du
rant tearfully-she wal a lady who wept
easily and c~opiously. "As you may i'm
agine. 1 am terribly anxious. To think
that. after keeping my W carriage. 1
should come to this!"
"Mother!' murmured Dora In q tone
of distress.
Mr.. Chillingworth murmured condo
lence, fumbled his hat and looked at Dora
under his lashes.
Most men thought her worth looking
ct, and he was no exception to this rule, If
his face was an index to his mind.
Obviously he was unused to women and
q little frightened of them.
1.-The proposal I am to submit to you Is
this" he said. sRalph Westbrook is q
prosperous gentleman farmer, as I dare
say you know; also he is young, a bach
elor and quite alone, and for some timo
has longed for companionshdp-for q home
In a wider sense than that afforded by tho
walls and furniture. To put 1t in plain
words, he wants a wife.
"a few months ago he received, with
the portraits of yourself and family, a pho
tograph Of Miss Dora here. and-well. no
fell in love with it. Very simple of him,
perhaps you think, but you must remem-
Der his great loneliness and let that be his
excuse
"Now 1 come to the point. If Miss Dora
would consent to marry him, OF course she
would then DO able to make n arrange
ment that seemed best to her as to tho
comfort of her mother and sisters. / am
about to return to the colony and would
take charge Of her during the voyage, and
49, - -, .I,o aDvr1J chow U,ftl, frinrIr
until the wedding"
sTravel thousands of miles to marry O
man I have never seen!' faltered the girl
IL never could do it-oh, 1 couldn't!"
"Nonsense, DORA" said her mother.
"You should feel honored-hattered. You
will have a kind husband-I am sure
for all your life, and I shall be relieved Of
of refusing" t
"Of course" put in George Chilling
worth slowly, "if Miss Dora has a decided
aversion to the scheme, I am SURE my
friend would be the last man to wish her
inclination forced in any way, and no doubt
he would arrange some other method of
assisting you all. l may safely add that
he is a 1000 sort of fellow, and that If she
consented he would be devoted to her and
spare no pains to recompense her for trust
ing her life to him."
"Mother, do you want me to gos Would
1t make you feel safo and happy about the
future?"
"Of course 1t would, Dora"
"Then," said the girl, with q curious
hard note in her voice, 'since my mother
can do without me, I will 60. Will you
tell my cousin, or shall II"
81 will. There is no need for you to
WRITE" answered Chillingworth. "He
will be very glad"
The voyage was all but over, and the
. girl who was on her way to an unknown
lover md the man who WA his friend
stood on the deck together. b
SIN a few hours we shall land" she
said, land them
"Shall you be sorryP' he asked. "Have
these been happy days?"
II wish they could last forever" she
cried passionately.
"Dora, If you were going out to me In
stend Of to him, would you mind SO very
much?"
sit would be paradise, /" she said simply.
She began to sob quietly, despairingly,
and bowed forward on he taffrail In the
shadow Of a friendly cloud.
Don't, for heaven g sake, don't, plead
cd the man. "Doifa, I. was q brute to mas
querade SO long, but l wanted to see you,
to study you-to DO sure I had won, not
bought, my wife. l am Ralph Westbrook.
You are coming to me. London News.