The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1899-02-09

regular born Old Dacn ne ia" u'u''"
and scorncd womanhnd most of the ffty
years of his life. and had openly set forth
his conviction that men were better on
without EN- than with EN-" particularly
when it come to marrying of en- lie
had held to this conviction so long and
had proclaimed il so boldly and so CON
stantly that all of the match-makcrs in
the rural neighborhood in which he lived
had given him up hopeless case beyond
the pale of their schemes for making a
benedict of him.
Jared was not. like most avowcd women
haters, grabbed, cross grained, snecring-
ly cynical man, which made his cclibacy
all the more objectionable in the eyes of
the matCh-makers.
He'd make a real good husband if he'd
try" they said. "Then he has the incest
farm in the ncighborhood. with one Of
the best houses on it and money out at in
terest, although he's not bit mean and
stingy. He'll do his full share always for
a neghbor in distress. 1t isn't because
he's too stngy to support her that Jared
doesn't get him wife"
1t was clear, crisp morning in Fehru-
airy when Jared rode to the village with
the widow Darby seated beside him in
his neat little cutter. The slcighng was
fine and the air keen and cXhlarating. 1t
gave the widows plump cheeks a beauti-
full 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 a child.
But then the widow Darby was proven
bially CHEEKY. She had suffered kcenly
the loss of her husband and both of her
children, but time had softencd 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 n comfortable little home and
few acres of land adjoining Jared Kcnt's.
She had known Jared all of her life, but
not once had she thought of him as
possible successor to joel Darby.
Jared will never marry any one she
had said He isn't of a marrying dispo-
sitiOn. Some men are that way. It's all
they lack TO make 'cm what God intended
they should be. My husband and | used
to talk Jared over n good deal, and we did
our full share to get him settled for life
with n good wife. We 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 any ways near falling into
any of the traps we set for him. We
thought once that he did take a kind of
q shine to a nice, sweet, real good looking
girl of about 30 named Janet Deanc 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 flew along
over the hills and through long lanes in
which the snow was drifted almost to the
top rails of the fences.
"Oh, it's lovely! replied the widow. 81
like snow"
80 do |. You got much to do in town."
mo; I'll he through with all of my err
rands in an hour. ! can let something go
If you don't want to stay in town that
long"
"Oh, that'll be none too long for me.
Where shall | meet you?"
IN be at Smith 4 Hanscom's dry goods
store, any time you say"
wen call it IL o'clock, then"
1t was three minutes after IL when
Jared drove up to the appointed place of
meeting. The widow had stepped into
the sleigh and he was tucking the robes in
around her when she said:
There. Jared, I'm just like other wom-
en-; I've forgotten something"
What is it?'
Il forgot to so around to the postofIlce.
/ know that there's nothing there for me,
because one of the Stone boys brought my