The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1899-02-08

n INTO Town
with Jared Kent because her horse had
famed himself that morning, and Jared
happened to be going i'm and had
asked the widow to ride with him.
Jared was what some of the people
e. the neighborhood called regular
born old bach" He had fiouted and
scorned womankind most of the SO
years of his life, and had openly set
forth his conviction that men were bet
ter off without 'em than with 'em, par
ticularly when it come to marrying of
'em." He had held to this conviction
so long and had proclaimed it so boldly
al so constantly that all of the match
makers in the rural neighborhood in
which he lived had given him up
hopeless case beyond the pale of their
schemes for making benedict of him.
Jared was not, like most avowed wom-
en- haters, a grabbed, cross-grained,
sneeringly, cynical man, which made
his celibacy all the more objectionable
in the eyes of the matchmakers.
He'd make a real good husband if
he'd try" they said. "Then he has the
incest farm in the neighborhood, with
one of the best houses on it, and money
out at interest, although he's not bit
mean and stingy. He'll do his full share
always for a neighbor in distress. 1t
isn't because he's too stingy to support
her that Jared doesn't get him wife,"
It was clear, crisp morning in Feb
ruary when Jared rode to the village
with the Widow Darby seated beside
him in his neat little cutter. The sleigh
ing was fine and the air keen and exhil-
arating. 1t gave the widows plump
cheeks beautiful crimson glow and
made her black eyes sparkle. She was
in high spirits and her laugh rang out
frequently as merry and ripping as
the laugh of child.
But then the Widow Darby was pro-
verbally CHEEKY. She had suffered
keenly the loss of her husband and
both Of her children, but time had
softened her grief, and she was too wise
to spend her life in gloom and grief
over the loss of those who were beyond
all care and sorrow.
She had comfortable little home and
a few acres of land adjoining Jared
Kent's. She had known Jared all of her
life, but not once had she thought of
hir! as a possible successor to Joel
Darby.
Jared will never marry anyone"
she had said. "He isn't of a marrying
disposition. Some men are that way.
It's all they lack to make 'em what God
intended they should be. My husband
and l used to talk over Jared a good
deal, and we did our full share to get
hiLl settled for life with good wife.
\. i. used to invite lots of nice girls,
young and elderly both, to our house
and then have Jared come over to tea
and to play croquet with him. He'd be
nice and pleasant and all that, but he
never came anyways near falling into
any of the traps we set for him. We
thought once that he did take kind of
a shine to nice, sweet, real cookbook
in, girl of about 30 named Janet Deane.
from over Shelby way, who was visiting
us. She'd of made him an awful good
wife, and sung her praises all the time,
but nothing came of it,"
''It's an elegant morning, isn't it?"
said Jared, as he and the widow few
along over the hills and through lorg
la.es in which the snow was drifted al
most to the top rails of the fences.
"Oh, it's lovely!" replied the widow.
81 like snow"
$50 do =. You got much to do in
town."
NO; I'll be through with all of my
errands in an hour. / can let some
thing go If you don't want to stay in
town that long"