Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-09-04
A Dummy Wife



livery well,' I said to myself
I'LL choose a wife. Who shall il
be? Why not Vene Wright? She
has money, and that is an important
item"
But Eene somehow OF other did
not exactly suit the case and nv
mind reverted to Miss Beaufort
who was smart, pretty, stylish and
suited better, but [ knew nothing
ABOUT her financial standing. This
was an important matter to me in
those days.
Meanwhile the carriage ap-
preached Miss Beaufort's. I had
never been there before, and to nv
surprise found it TO be a very un-
pretentlous house. | confess I was
disappointed. I expected to drive
up to al elegant mansion, be ush-
cred INTO q fine reception room by
a servant in livery and there await
the coming of Miss Beaufort. Then
| expected TO make bold dash for
her heart, propose and possibly
be accepted or declined by the time
the party was over.
But not so. A little lady with
gray hair opened the door, and she
was introduced to me by Miss Beau
fort as mamma. Miss Beaufort
was ready and waiting, so we walked
out to the carriage
Mr.. Silver" said she after we
had seated ourselves, "don't you
think there is a great amount of
snobbery in society and lots of
downright foolishness %
"Well, yes" said l.
"For instance" said she, F'here is
an elegant carriage that you have
brought for me, and yet the party
is not half a mile away
This certainly was very refresh
ing. had actually squandered FL
to have this carriage for the evening
and she was not pleased with it. I
know Vene would have enjoyed a
ride in it.
"Mr. Silver" she remarked again,
<this is the last party ] am going
to this winter.''
<:Well, why?'' said 1. <Aren't
you going to take in the German
club ball and the others?' p
NO." said she. Mamma hasn't
the money; she can't afford it. Be-
sides, Mr.. Silver" she continued,
<:can you really afford to spend so
much money on society,""
] looked at her. There was hon.
esty fairly shining out Of her pretty
black eyes even if she wasn't very
polite, so I answered her honestly:
'No, Miss Beaufort, -! cannot! I
haven't saved a penny this win
ter, and get big salary too. It
seems idiotic.'
Il have met you so frequently l
feel quite we'll acquainted with you,
though I expect I have been little
impolite."
NO" said I. II am glad that
you take that much interest in me"
Then we changed the subject. I
had splendid time at the party and
enjoyed Miss Beaufort's company
very much. found her level head
ed and bright if she was too frank.
The next day I told mother about
1t. She said she admired Miss Beau
fort for her common sense, though
she had never seen her. Then she
referred again to my getting mar
xied.
"suppose," said she, <<that you
pretend for a week or 50 that you
arc married and see how it goes?"
can imitation wife ?" said I.
why not?" she said. E1 will
write the name Of a young lady on
. card, seal it in an envelope and
you can lock it in your desk. Then
let US suppose you are married to
her for, say, two weeks. During
shat time I want you to act just as
If the lady were here in person and
your lawfully welded wife,"
"Whose name are you going to
write on the card?" said l.
"Never mind" said she. II will
write my preference, and neither of
us will breathe a word about this
to a living soul"
We agreed on this. Mother wrote
the name on the card and sealed it
in the envelope. l knew it was
iVene Wright's name, so decided to
imagine that Vene was there in per-
son, and so we commenced the
week.
Monday night came. That was
the night of the German club ball.