The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-02-15
THE EVENING STOR r
a Very CIever 1oman.

more proper still. AS a young lady,
even her very proper father, Deacon
W.ray, and her very proper mother
his wife. never had to criticise or eau
ton As Hannah kept adding years
to her age and was finally spoken OF
as an old maid. her proper father and
mother died, and she went to live with
her brother Dan.
Dan was hard-headed and hard
working and not at all proper per-
son from some points Of view, but that
did not affect Hannah any. She had
been left $4,000 in cash. had never mao
beau nor read a love story ana sne
felt that all she had to do in this WoFid
was to keep right on being proper.
One day another proper young Wo-
man came to call on Hannah. she
wasn't quite as proper as Miss Wray'
Tor she had once permitted young
man to walk home from church Win
her, but she was trying her best TO De
forgiven by society for that sin.
When she departed she left q cireu-
Jar on the floor, and Hannah picheo i
up and gave it a careless look. A mo-
ment later she was turning pale ana
gasplng for breath. Two minutes later
she was upstairs in her room and
blushing as she read. It was a circular
from a matrimonial bureau.
Notwithstanding her properness,
Hannah had heard of such things, but
only to be Mortified. She was HORNED
now. She was also interested She
was Mortified that her caller should be
in receipt of such literature, and inter-
ested to know If men and women did
really get married through such agen-
cies.
For five minutes she refused to read
further than the heading. Then she
looked all around her room, gave q
shudder. and proceeded to devOur every
word. She even read the circular twice
over. It was a call to all those in love
/ to send on fifty cents and receive the
names Of three persons with whom
they might correspond On the books
of the agency, so it was stated, were
the names of heiresses and wealthy
widows piaing for husbands, as well as
Widowers with millions and young men
needing wives to help them take care
of inheFitances. The reader was as
sured that there were governors, sena-
tors and railroad presidents making
use OF the agency.
Hannah Wray found her heart beat
ing faster as she read, and when she
glanced at the glass she found that
she was bluShing. Her first thought
was to rush after her friend and re-
store the circular and cut her acquain-
lance foreyermo lore Her second was to
keep the circular and read it over
again. OF course she acted on second
thought. She did more than that. She
allowed her mind to dwell on If and
romance to creep over her unromantic
/ could read it without blushing.
That should be the end, however.
/ Never, never would she permit herself
to send away fifty cents and receive
4
/ ton for three days, and then she sent
off the money. It was the first letter
she had ever written to any one except
/ a relative. It was the first time in two
years she had visited the village post
! Office. The day the letter was mailed
Dan Wray's wife said to him as he was
milking the COW in the barn:
Say, Dan, something is wrong with
| Hannah
What do you mean?" he asked.
"She's got something on her mind.
/ Two or three times today I've caught
her looking in the glass and acting
girly, I'm not quite sure of It, but 1
have a feeling that when she went
down town it was to post a letter.
Something has certainly happened.
What do you think it is ?"
Il know she has had mumps,
measles and the chicken pox the same
time did" replied Dan, after thinking
things over, and she can't be coming
down with any of those"
"Of course not. Didn't say
caught her acting girly2"
well. what's that the sign Off"
Dan Wray, you don't know beans
when the bags united. It means that
/ Hannah is in love. Yes, sir; old a she
/ is, she's either in love or wants to be.
and it's our duty to keep an eye on
/ her"
well, let her love" answered Dan,
as he turned to his milking, and that
4 settled matters as far as he was con-
/ cerned for little while.
In due time Hannah received reply
! to her letter. She had described herself
as single, moderately wealthy and good
/ tempered, and the agency had sent her
! the names of three rich men who want
ed just such wife as she would make
If the old maid hadn't been so proper
| she would have opened correspondence
with all three of them. AS it was, she
/ decided that one was enough. She
didn't even decide that until she had
struggled with her feelings for three
long days.
Curiosity and romance finally got the
4 better of prudence and propriety, and
her letter was duly mailed. During the
next five or six days she gave herself
/ away to her sister-in-laW in fifty diff
ferent ways, and even the hard-headed
/ brother was compelled to notice that a
t change had taken place
What do you think it is. Dan ?"
asked the wife as he sat on the milk
stool again.
burned If know. Lucy. Has Dea-
/ con White OF any other Widower been
spooking around here?'
mo, not a SOUL
s.She keeps primping and looking in
the glass and blushing, does she2'
Twenty times a day. heard her
humming q love song upstairs today,
and she's taken to going to the post
Office every night and morning. Dan,
tell you we've got to keep our eyes
I open S'sposen some rich man should
come along and coax her to elope with
him %
| Il guess you and Han are both safe
from that" he laughed, in reply. and
again the subject was dismissed.
Next day the old maid had her letter.
It was postmarked Boston. and never
in her life did the way from the post
/ Office home seem so long.
1t was from Quincy Livingstone Lap
ham, who had got her address from
the agency. Quincy was forty years
old, a retired capitalist and a widower
and he wrote a letter full of sentiment
and a desire to please. If he didn't
know hash from Goldfish, he at least
t knew how to touch an old maids heart
no matter what a proper person she
was By the time she had read it three
| tirnas over Hannah WAY had gong