The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-05
Dosio's Hutomobile.

Cynics say that women marry for many other reasons than love. They marry for q position, for an establishment, for n diamond necklace for an automobile. Such sordid motives are attributed to the demoralizng influences of town life, wherein ultra-civillkation suppresses the natural in- stincts.
 "Oh, for a return to nabure," say the critics, where men do not bribe and women are unbought. Let us live close to the beat ing heart of the Great Mother where life Is simple and motives are unmlxed."
 Ira la Ira In! Please, Sir Critic, rend this little tale, and you will see the same faults that you have laid at the door of town life" budding and bourgeoning in the simplesta of surroundings among the least artificial of people. Back of town life" and ultra civilization" Is human nature, which recognizes no environment.
 Uncle Kelly, tail, bent and shambling, his black face set in frame of kinky snow; Uncle Kelly, seventy years old and thrice widower; Uncle Kelly-was in love.
 His condition was whispered about the set tlement quietly at first, for the neighbors felt that Kelly had been unfortunate in his wives; three of them, such an expense for in fares, and not one of them alive to look after his old age. And certainly he had mourned Aunt Lucy right respectfully. It was six months since her death and he hadn't co ted nobody until Sam Perkins Dosia had come Dack from service III iOWu, pluulp EiVNtu up and powerful pretty.
 But Dosia was sixteen, and sixteen, whether black or white, requires heavy weight in the other side of the scale to swing seventy from the ground.
 If the girls parents had been of a higher social stratum they might have expressed to her their desire to see her established in life" Sam and Sally Perkins told their daughter with d brutal bluntness what meant the same thing-that they wanted her to marry Kelly to ''get shut of her.
 This remark was not especially moving to Dosia. for she had earned her living before and was competent to do it again, and felt independent of parental support. It did make her think however, of the advantages of having a cabin of her own, with no one To boss her but Kelly whom she knew how to manage.
 She could have flower garden, too; Kelly said SO Her father never had spared her bit of ground from the corn and sorghum and potatoes; and she did love flowers
 Then all the work she did would be for her self not for white folks, nor even for her father. My. how her hack ached skinnling syrup Inst sorghum boiling time! Yet she had hardly had chance to waDDie uer pohs in 1t all winter.
 Such thoughts certainty die mako her hope to get married.
 As she came 10 this conclusioh she slld along the bench on which she and Kelly were sitting under the big oak and leaned against the old man. He cnuckled ecstail- caIiv and mi his arm around her waist.
 Ii was fhe worst move he could have made, for in spite of his triple c0njugai experience, Kelly was not apt in the Whys or lpVers. As she felt his touch Dosla remembered Ill flash how differently young Ed baldWH had done the same thing no longer ago than the previous evening, and she shd swittly hack agnin to her former place. Kelly grum hled in senile fault finding, but made the mistake of staying at his end ot the Dehch' while Dosa ponted and sulkcd ana dug hole in the soft dirt with her bare brown toes.
 It was crisis in the courtship. During the next week Kelly came 10 the house every day. and every day DOsia ran away into the woods when she saw him coming
 But her father was unbearably cross, and she never got as much syrup as she wanted, and Ed Baldwin had not been to see her again. and the independence of the new and untried life of a matron appealed 10 her.
 stll. Uncle Kelly was mighty old.
 And powerful ugly
 No she never could
 lust as she made this decision. which she felt 10 be>fnal, Kelly came along the road, sitting on the running gear of his wood wagon and driving between the shafts his spotted steer.
 .'Hullo, Dosla; git on and ride" he said.
 Nothing loath Dosia slipped between the wheels and hitched herself on 10 the pole that connects the front axletree and the hack. If was not q comfortable seat, but she was not critical. Three of the wheels were of the same size, but the fourth was much larger, an arrangement that created a certain unevenness of motion In the vehl- ce But Dosia did not care. Neither did she object to the steers emaciation.
 Do you like it7" asked Kelly, looking