The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-07-13
SELECTED STORY.
Bachelor Maids.

Jan. /, 1876 -Perfectly lovely Time
to-day. No young men callers were
allowed at the Advanced Young Wo-
mans Business college, and it seemed
30 nice not to be compelled to smirk
and smile and listen TO a lot OF silly
compliments and speeches. l never
fully realized before what a bore the
men are.
"Half a dozen of us girls got to talk
ing the matter over tonight and finally
resolved to paddle our own canoes
through life and let the men do the
same so far as We are concerned. To
make the resolution more binding we
formed q club known as the Bachelor
Maids Triple Alliance. 1 suppose we
ought to have called it the Sextuple AL
lance, seeing there are six OF us, but
Lottie Burton said Triple Alliance
sounded better and was just as binding,
30 we called it that. After we had the
name settled on one of the girls said
there was a triple alliance of some sort
in Europe, and we might be infringing
on their copyright, but none of us
could remember exactly what it was
about or who got it up, so we decided
to take the chances of there being a pa
tent on it.
81 am the president of the club
won't it look grand when it m to
be printed on the club stationery,
Phyllis Potter, president of the Bach
elor Maids Triple Alliance'-and the
other members are Lottie Burton,
Maud Spencer, Edith Wilson, Mabel
Thurston and Belle Richardson. There
are to be no dues or admission fee ex-
cept 81 each for a suitable pin, with
the monogram, 'B. M. T. A. engraved
on it. Each girl is TO wear the pin
constantly as a reminder of the vow
she has taken, and she is to explain
fully just what the letters NEAR to any
n who is curious enough to ask.
''Of course we don't expect any of
the members of the alliance to be weak
enough to eve fall in love with a man
and marry him, but if such an unlikely
event should happen, the offender is to
strip off her badge of maiden bachelor
president, with a letter of apology, and
giving some good reason Cf such a
thing is possible) for the step she has
taken.
"'This letter was a suggestion of my
own, and l think it a grand idea. How
l will lecture the backsliders-that is,
of course, if there are any, which l
hardly expect, judging from the way
the girls all talked tonight. What a
Jolly, independent lot they arel No
clinging ivy business in theirs, thank
you. Men are all we'll enough in their
places-running railroads, engineering
political caucuses. C .,-but when it
comes to marrying one of them and be-
ing dependent on him for a home and
a living-well, the B. M. T. AS re-
specially beg to be excused.
"Jan. S-The pins came from the
jewelers. today, and they are too sweet
and lovely for anything g. The mono
gram is a dark blue enamel, and there
is a delicate spray of forgetmenots
twining gracefully around it, making
the pin a very tasteful and desirable
ornament.
"We girls (the six bachelor maids, 1
mean) all are very proud of our pins
and commenced wearing them at nee.
Some of the other girls since seeing
the pins are sorry they didn't join the
club, too, but we have decided TO take
in no more members for fear we might
get some weak minded one who might
be led to join just for the sake of wear
ing one of the pins, and then as soon as
the novelty wore off they wouldn't
wait for the enamel; that would take
too long) bring disgrace on the club by
getting married.
"No, it will be safer to stick to the
original membership-the six strong
willed, vigorous minded founders OF
the B. M. T. A. We are reasonably
sure that they at least will be faithful.
1.-THE club stationery also came to.
day, and 1 couldn't help feeling a glow
of bachelor maidenly pride as l saw
the words, Phyllis Potter, president,
in the daintiest of script under the
name of the club at the top of the let
terheads and on the envelopes.
81 Immediately sat down and wrote
a note to every friend l could think of
using the club paper of course, just tt
impress them with my new title.