The Democratic advocate., 1908-09-04
AN
IJNFINISHE
PROPOSAL.
By C. 3. LEWIS.
a 1QrS BY Associated
Nv C. B. LEWIS.
= -,,,r.ighted, 1903, by Associated
Lop9 Literary Press.


" Or less, especially when the moth
lIV.1 c,idow. 1t isn't through anT
u - If ovarice that she would have
sp' ,.,rhter marry rich. 1t is simply
L' .,o money may be tn the house
',''' tba man comes around with the
,fu II isn't because of snobbish
,l,,t she would prefer to be the
H'- .s,pf7-,av of a duke rather than
'-,, .r,,,noer, but dukes are said never
IN their rothers-in-law old cats.
" - t isn,t from any desire to smash ro-
zoos or break hearts that they lug
.na daughter of twenty off to Europe
~. so,os she will forget the man of
,+n.five " to fall In love with
..+o- of sixty. 1t is that the dear
~-I NAV have a grandfather. a father
md husband all in one
Crch were the guiding principles of
,,n, Deland. relict of Judge Deland.
-, # is requested that a fair per
s,nt of the readers of this story be
.or,a her partisans and give her fair
sbSE. u r,o, ,,d
.,ooivad the education given to ali
ronng girls whose fathers or mothers
srp able to pay for the same by tn
sruare foot, and she had arrived at the
srn of twenty without causing any
nsr.icular worry to anybody when She
not voung Albert Lee They callei
him voong Lee because he was only
trontv-tyo and because there was an
I'D Lee who was sixty.
yorro Lee was still at college, AMI
# WAS still an unsettled question as to
rbot profession he would select to
make his way through life. In an iii
dofniteIy definite way he had been
noring his attentions to Miss Clara
for several months before the widowe>!
mother with 4 woman's intuition.
oronsed herself to the realization that
ber lamb might be stolen away. Then.
ike 4 dutifu mother, she began max
irc Inquiries and scolding her daugh-
fer at the same time.
II did not take long to exhaust the
schedule Of inquiries. Young Lee was
all right socially, and his sfxty-year-
old father would leave him COM
Portable property when the reaper
came. but there was no telling wheth-
er be would pass away at sixty-one or
eighty-ive.
II was long odds for a mother with
q hlsineSs head on her to take. She
at once put her foot down, and oe
course it was the wrong foot. She
began by criticising the suitOF and
ended by announcing that she would
rather see her daughter In her grave.
There were arguments, proteSta-
tions tc2rs A girl who is beginning
to feel the impulses of love may be
argued or buildozed into silence, but
to convince her is quite another thing
After a few minutes Clara had moth
ing further to say. and in her eXuber-
ance over her triumph the mother an
lOunced an early trip to Europe.
Young Lee would not follow. The ex-
elements and enjoyments Of London.
Paris and Berlin would quite drive
him from the daughters mind, and
some day that daughter would kneel
at the maternal feet and eXclaim:
BLESS you, mamma, that you have
caused me to forget that penniless
young man and engaged me to the lfv-
ing remains Of an ancient lord, duke
Or cOuntw
The living remains appeared in Lon
don. He was Lord Somebody or 9th
ef. The only certain thing about his
ace was that he was over sixty. The
only certain thing about his attentions
70 the daughter was that he believed
the mother far richer than She was
and that he had several mortgages
On several ruined castles that he wish
ed to repair.
After the first meeting, which came
ABOUT through accident. MILFORD was in
evidence at brief Intervals during the
Wlr lasting three months and more.
he received all proper encouragement
from the mother, and there were times
%Aen the daughter sat and looked at
ILLS dyed hair and false eyebrows and
pasted wrinkles and was amused.
IN due time, which was a day or
Two before the ladies sailed for home.
1t made his proposal. 1t was first
Iade to the mother, who received it
SIllnsly; then to the daughter, who
1So Smiled little, but prevaricated
saying that she didn't know her
own heart.
uiofd was in duty bound, as gal
Su'emains are, to say that he would
ave Her time, and Clara looked back
~ London from the decks of the
a1 saHier and congratulated herself that
uls ended it all.
-I"l was where she was Just as
=. 1ln mistaken as her mother had
sen They had been home only four
,n "eeAS when MILFORD put in an appear
T. al the American manor house
bo "Ss 10 ones business but his own
n, he mad managed to raise the cash
nv, ue ulp, There are money lenders
Ha ison I who will take long chances
dor do oVe had not grown cold with the
EatVuFe t of Miss Deland.
yorna s' Us the mother had figured on
Nh Lee had not followed the cou-
i PC abroad Thoro ~ 4m -,
s,ou uie civilized world. however an1
4 Vas sy girl might have said that II
1 roo,-' eold week when Clara didn't
i cer+o,e ana answer a letter from i
US,ain sa New England college town.
sfto, uiay have even met young Le.,