The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-31

A minister in Reading, Pa, adver
tised for an ideal wife, and now he
says he has found her, so he married
her quickly before she could get away.
In his efforts to find a wife the rever-
end gentleman not only answered each
of the numerous letters which were
sent in reply to his pathetic advertise
ment, but he requested interviews
whenever possible, and it was when he
was calling upon one of the applicants
that he met the young woman who
has now the extreme joy Of being his
wife. She must have looked like q
cook-I should say a good cook-for he
Immediately opened negotiations and
was accepted. After having made his
hunt for a wife SO public. the minister
felt that he owed some further word
to those interested, so he had himself
interviewed and announced that he
had indeed discovered the ideal wife
What his ideals consist of may be i'm
agined from his further remarks that
his wife is past mistress in the art
of piemaking. He sampled her cook
ing before the fatal words were said.
and her culinary qualifications proving
satisfactory, matters were allowed to
proceed and she is today the Rev. Mrs.
Somebody. One evidence that there is
nothing mean about women is that aft
er the parsOn had announced the find
ing of his ideal, he received hundreds
OF congratulatory kilograms, mainly
from the aspirants for his hand who
had been rejected as incompetent cooks
and hOuSekeeperS. That was very nice
in the girls. The minister thought so,
too, and he must have known what a
disappointed lot they were.
Not only did he say that his new wife
is good cook, but good Christian, a
happy combination which ought to as
sist somewhat in his life work. Now
that he has this little matter off his
mind, the minister will probably settle
down to evangelical labor, strengthened
and sustained by the pie for which his
new wife is famous. He talked quite
a good deal when interviewed and said
that his ideal of a wife was one who
could bake, sew, make life pleasant for
her husband, one who can hold her
tongue, is not fussy, does not dance,
nor care for fancy clothing" and will
give up her whole life to her husband.
The little minister" is quite modest;
he doesn't want much
He wants his wife absolutely to sink
her identity. to wear-heaven knows
what, perhaps a uniform and Saliva
ton Army bonnet, no fancy clothing
at all events, to spend her life in the
kitchen baking those wonderful pies
and to be nothing and nobody. He will
discover, perhaps, that the world has
advanced 20 a point beyond him and
his theCries
The ideal wife may make her pies
and q ear her Uniform for a few weeks,
h q some day she will meet a friend of
hers going to an afternoon tea with a
new and Up-to- date gown on, and the
ideal wife will think a few thoughts.
Ten to one she will return home and
give the minister the shock of his life.
There may be a strike in the pie bust
ness. SShe win inform her reverend
partner that if he wanted a cook he
should have married one. She would
have him understand that the words
wife and cook are not interchangeable
terms. Perhaps they should be, but
they are not. Then the inevitable will
occur. In a few months husband will
be lighting the fire, running out to the
corner to buy a read@made pie-and
be glad to get it-and wife Will be
wearing some good clothes. 1t must
come; any man as cockSure as the par
son is riding for fall. So I leave him
certain that his story is a serial and
will look with interest for the next
chapter.