The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-07-22
A MANS ESTIMATE
OF WOMAN.
toriginall

come engaged while have been
away"
YES" said one OF the ladies, "and
he's throwing himself away"
'In the opinion Of the men or the
women3"
II never speak in praise or condem-
nation OF another" replied the lady,
except for myself alone"
"And, without referring TO you at all,
I must say that never take a wo-
mans opinion OF another woman"
"why so?" asked several ladies at
once.
"a woman is Influenced by her likes
and dlslikes. She has no sense OF real
justice"
"And would you rely on mans
opinion OF a womanT
"a man OF mature age"
yourself. for instanceT
Il am forty; too old To be caught by
sentiment, too young to be fooled as an
old man"
This BIT OF conversation took place
when the ladies at dinners were accus-
toned to leave the men to smoke with
their coffee, and the hostess led them
to the drawing room. where they spent
an hour eonversing on the topic Of the
relative value OF a mans and a wo-
mans opinion OF women.
IA al. a lnN NkaN
tin Hammond received an invitation
from one OF the party Informally for a
game Of whist He met there a widow
Mrs. Cheever. somewhere between
twenty-five and twenty-five years old.
She was modest and shy almost to
timldlty. Nevertheless there was some.
thing about her that grew upon Ham
mond. 10 was not her conversation,
for she was not a talker. 1t might
have been her eyes, set in small
oval shaped head At any rate, there
was something away down in those
eyes TO excite a mans fancy and set
him wondering. About what? Ham
mond at least didn't know, but be won
dered all the same.
Hammond asked permission 70 call and
became a frequent visitor at her home
a suit Of apartments IN which she lived
with a servant. He took her out oc-
caslonally either TO drive or to places
Of amusement. and It was not long be-
fore his friends began TO speculate
upon a probable engagement One
morning he was surprised TO receive
note from the lady who introduced him
TO Mrs Cheever In which she said sub
stantally that, having heard OF his at
tentions. she wished to dlsclaim any
intention 10 recommend the lady she
had introduced as a suitable person for
him to marry. If he made a match
with Mrs. Cheeyer he must do so on
his own responsibility. Hammond was
surprised.
Later on he received n second note
from another Of the ladies' he had met
at the dinner party. This note was
positive warning against Mrs. Chez
yer. Hammond kept the note secret
for two days. then showed it TO the
woman It condemned She looked
troubled, but told very straight story
which agreed especially with Ham
monds opinions in matters between
women. She said that she had robbed
the writer OF a lover.
Hammond at last found the young
widow so necessary to him that be
asked her to be his wife. She declined
at first, giving as a reason that she
would bring him nothing; indeed, could
not make even a respectable show at
the wedding Hammond told her that
he could support her comfortably and
gave her a check for $1,000 to spend
en- trousseau. This. after many prot
estatlons. she finally consented to ac-
cept, and the matter was settled. The
final closing up Of the arrangements
occurred at II o'clock one night, and
left his fiancee a happy man.
The next evening at s he went to the
widows apartments to consult with her
as to her preference in the matter of an
engagement ring There was no reply
to his ring ait the door. Convinced that
there was no one within. he applied for
at the office of the janitor
"The lady moved out this morning
sir"
Hammond caught at a banister for
support
ibid she leave any message for-for
me|
"She left no message for any one,
sir. While her things was going into
the van she went round to the bank,
came back aud paid three months rent
and went away"
That was the last Of Mrs. Cheever for
Hammond.
He did not inquire at his bank IL his
III 600 check had been presented, but he
found it charged against him when his
account was balanced He kept away
from his friends as much as possible
and when rallied with queries as to
when he was going to be married turn
ed away with a gickly expression, re-
plying that he might possibly marry a
marble statue or wooden Indian
squaw with a bundle Of cigars in her
hand, but never a woman.
One morning at breakfast he opened |
4 note from the lady who had intro
duced him to Mrs. Cheever apologizing
for her part in a plot that had been
concocted by the ladies of the dinner
party in which he had expressed his
views of womens testimony with re-
gard to women. One Of the party said |
she knew a woman Of twenty-three |
who had divorced three husbands and /
had one or two left who would be