The Penn's Grove record., 1896-03-20

A HON Eat rfSht up W Sh0
fad a listener to her proposal
why doat you marry, Mr.. Culver z
she asked with directness SSou are
not too wise to consider the question: =
hope"
Certainly not, Miss Susanna he
smiled. give been considering II f9'
twenty years"
Then you ought to stop conSiderins
II and pop it" Susanna laughed ana
, Mr.. Culver also.
II hardly think III ever DO that he
said, seriously. IL wouldn't kno" no"
to 20 about It to make myself halt pre-
sentabla. I've given myself un 20"
know, ala bad job"
Some Of these new women VIII De
| charging down or you n of theSs
| days, teaching you the newer decrlBe
| that women have the right to say
whether you have the right to do win
| yourself as you please. In other weraS'
! some u of them viii capture yon In
spite OF yourself"
Not much they won't" asserted MR
| Culver, with q great show Of eouragc'
"If there Is anything l DON'T want TO
marry it's q woman with fool nefAons
; Of that kind"
susanna's heart went down to her
shoes on the instant. Here vas an In
surmountable obstacle In her path and
with Mr.. Culver holding to EncA an
opinion what good womb q prSpcsh
Ire from her even II she should nauste
up courage enough to make it The
thought made her mute for a minute
and In that minute a new thought came
one that had been there before, but had
gone wool gathering while she was
beating around the bush with the new
woman idea.
81 think myself they are horrid," she
said, with an effort to swallow ome
thing that would not go down very
easily. But there is the lsap year
privilege. All women, new and old
can claim that, and you mustn't forget
that this is leap year
81 had forgotten it." he snid. moving
mis- chair over into the far corner Of the
fireplace, but still not 30 far away that
he was out Of the pleasant influence Of
Susanna's nearness. BE sat there for
IN instant, making himself Rhfver with
terror, and then he moved back, posst
bly, O little nearer than before.
"Forewarned is forewarned." she
said, land now that l have told you Of
the dangers ahead 1 hope you will prof.
by my advice"
"oh, I'm not afraid" he asserted in
n good voice, "I'm Just waiting for that
sort of thing. The custom or tradition
or whatever you may call 1t In an old
fashioned one and only an oldfAshion1
cd woman would think of 1t. and that Id
the kind I want. So none of them had
better try 1t unless she means bust
ness"
Surely no finer opening could be pre-
Eented to a young woman In her mood
than this. and Susanna gave herself q
little shake and took another long
breath. The time had come, and she
was not the woman to lose SO gioTioU
nn opportunity.
MIR. Culver" she began, In = firm
voice and with great earnestness, =
have q long time been thinking that
you ought to marry, md l have even
gone SO far as to select just such q
woman as l think would suit you. Z
had two or three Consultations with
her and she is willing that l should pref
rent the matter 10 you. because I know
you 10 well and you will understand II
better frem me than IL she should pre-.
sent It herself
This impersonal style was eminently
pleasing to Susanna, and she felt thai
her task was not going to be so hard
after all, but she had not considered
Mr.. Culrer's views sufficiently.
When she was about 10 proceed fur
Their with her remarks, Mr.. Culve1
Signs Of real anxiety and aross
10 his feet
Miss Susanna" he exclaimed, "don't
say another word Really, 1 cannot Lis.
ten to Il"
Put l must say" 1t to you" she insist
ed, because, as 1t seemed to her, that
was the proper way 10 conduct q sue
cessful courtship, and now that she had
1t she most decidedly wished II
to be successful
~ tell you l won't hear 1t. This II
entirely unexpected and l am sure moth
ing in my conduct has ever warranted
you in broaching this subject to me-"
Mr.. Culver was evidently in earnest
and Susanna almost chuckled to her
self, for this was the very way young
women acted under the circumstances
In which Mr.. Culver was placed. All
1t needed now was a little more coax
ing, and Susanna nerved herself for
the final pop.
Perhaps you have not thought no."
she said In her softest voice, but to
me there has ever been a desire to say
70 you what l am now saying. Mr.
CulvercJohn," and Susanna came very
close to him, Notwithstanding she was
SO nervous she hardly knew what to
do.
Hold on. Susanna, hold on" he ex-
claimed. "Confound it-(that shocked
her, for she knew 10 girl had ever talk
ed that way under such circumstances,
however much she might have thought
itl-I don't want you to be talking In
any other woman's interest. There Is
only one woman In the world that I
want, and-and-and-(Mr. Culver was
getting nervous himself now, and Su.
sauna gasped)-and oh, Susanna" he
said, desperately, don't you know that
woman Ia your You. susanna7 Dom
you know 1t is your
Mr.. Culver caught Susanna's two
hands in his and looked into her tive
eyes with such a pleading, pathetic. IN.
tense sincerity that all her plans were
consumed as a straw in a fierce blaze,
and she simply tumbled into his arms
and let him finish the proposal she
thought she had begun In such a mas
terly manner.
And Mr.. Culver finished II with gilt.
terlng success, much to the relief Of
Miss Susanna Morton, spinetar.-New
York Sun. ~
A Uaeful Man.