The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-01-13
Old Maid Hires Man
To Make Love to Her
Pays Good Looking One TO Pretend to Be
Counting Her-FOur Dollars a Day
and Expenses.

Miss MeIvina Slade. Of East Granite
ton. n. a., had sweetheart and a
proposal The lover was the hand
soonest. best dressed. and best man
nered" man that ever graced the so
Clety functions of the beautiful Wiz
.age up in the Green mountains, and
fo- three months Miss Melvina was
the most envied and perhaps the most
talked about woman In all that dis
.t,lct-
Now il has developed that the lover
aas on q salary. aud that Miss Mel
vina's only love affair and her triumph
over the Eossips OF che town cost her
81 day and the expenses Of the court
ship. Yet. had II not been that the
facts were discovered. Miss MeIvina
would have counted the S6i2 wei
spent.
Miss Slade now Is forty-two years
old She was the daughter Of the Rev.
Frederick SIade. a United Brethren
missionary worker. who made his
home at East Graniteton and preach
ed az many revivals. Slade was poor
and "shifless." which is the worst
indictment possible IN that part or
New England. Yet for some reason
unknown Mary Allen. the daughter Of
Selectman Asa Allen. the prettiest Girl
in all the country round, fell in 1--we
With and married him
Melvina was thirty-two years old
when her father came home from his
last protracted meeting 20 die. She
was thirty-eight when he died.
People said Melvina Slade was a
hopeless old maid. and when her father
died they said it was pity he lad
not died years before and given her
chance. A year later Squire Allen
died and left everything 10 his grand
daughter.
After nearly forty years Of penury
and oppressive poverty she was rich
az least rich for East Grauiteton-and
better than that, was free. Her first
move was 10 buy pretty clothes Peo-
Die laughed and said Melvina was lock-
ing for a husband. Then she built the
finest monument IN the cemetery and
had recorded there all the virtues OF
her father. People laughed again and
speeulated as TO what Squire Allen
would do if he knew his money mad
been used to raise a monument 10 the
memory Of the Rev. Mr.. Siade.
But she was happy, or at least com
Portable and contented. until one day
she overheard some one say;
There goes Miss Siade, Poor thirs'
she never had a beau
The girl who spoke noticed in conster-
nation that Miss Slade had overheard
her, but she did not know until MISS
Slade confessed to her recently that her
words, thOughtlessly spoken, had
brought home 10 Miss MelVlna sense
of longing. For the first time she real
lied her loneliness and that she was an
old maid II was not IhaI she wanted
to get married or even desired the
friendship Of men. Indeed she feared
men and disliked them, but the thought
that all the other women and girls ~
town pitied her and thought she could
not get husband or sweetheart II she
tried aroused all the resentment IN her
nature. She felt hurt and bitter, and
her pride was sOrely wounded, and the
hurt was all the greater because she
felt in her heart that what the women
said was true
Tormented by the GOssips.
Ii was early last spring that Miss
MeIvina conceived her great idea. She
went down 10 Portsmouth for a visit
and when she returned she informed
some of her friends that she had met a
handsome young man down there.
Now, Miss Melvina," they would say.
don't you be marrying him and moving
away"
Law she would answer. I'm
never going 10 marry. I'm too old;
why, MelVina," they would declare,
you don't look a day over thirty.
And then they would go away and
''POOr Melvina. She's getting foolish.