The Cairo bulletin., 1910-02-21
THE FLOWER SHOW.


Alicia Say es was troubled What
troubled her was her own secret and
was not suspected BY anyone. In
deed, ii vas not suspected at all
| that she was troubled. Why should
she be? she owned the finest farm
| in the county, was college gradu-
| ate and comely. True. she was an
forphan. but as Ear back as she could
| remember she had always been an
/ orphan. Her home was with an
| uncle and an aunt.
What troubled her was this: She
had nearly passed what might be
| considered the best age for women
/ to marryshe was 27--and was not
| married, Had it not been for her
4 property she might have been mar
/ ried long ago. Nevertheless. Alicia
| was country girl If she married
she would marry farmer.
On her return from college she
! did not think OF marriage She had
| resources within herself which were
! 5lcdtiS plOdutltu Ny HeE euucdllDH,
| For d time she read books on the
/ lines marked out for her in college
/ and was satisfied But one morning
/ she awoke to the fact that she was
/ drifting into perpetual spinsterhood.
7 the prospect did not please her. She
/ thought over the bachelors OF her
! acquaintance and after some deliher-
alton settled on Silas BlalSely, q
young farmer with little on his farm
! except mortgage. On him she re-
solved to bestow her hand
1 She did not know that Blakely
would care to marry her, though she
rather thought he would But, con-
1 sidering she was well to do and he
| was poor, she knew he would not
have the assurance to propose to her.
/ She must propose to him. How
| should she propose?
One evening Alicia saw Blakely
| coming up the road driving the
| stock from pasture. Hurrying into
the garden she gathered a bouquet
/ ana Sdiu 10 ~
| Il take you, beautiful flowers. with
! your pink and blue and crimson and
white compilations, to be my welded
husband"
Then, calling to her aunt, she told
| her to take them to the well and
| throw them in as soon as Blakely
came opposite, making sure he saw
, her doing so. The aunt took the
! bouquet, went to the well and when
the young farmer passed acted as
she had been told
Why do You throw those beauti-
full flowers away?" called silas.
They are my husband" said Ali
Ella from the porch 'I'm a widow"
What do you mean by that?"
! Have you ever heard OF the pro-
verb, Go to the ant, thou sluggard--
consider her days and be wiser"
Yes"
We'll, If you wish to know the
meaning Of my being married to the
fowers, go to your books and if you
hunt patiently you will find out"
With this she went into the house.
Blakely hurried on to overtake the
stock which had passed during the
I brief dialogue, but he knew not Of
horses or cows; the strange episode
had got into his head, and he was
filled with wonder as to what it
meant While Alicia had been tell
ing him that she was widow she
had looked upon him kindly and her
voice, which was sweet, still sound
ed pleasantly in his ears.
Now, Silas Blakely was no fool.
His education was good for coun-
! tryman, but he neither had the
books nor the inclination to hunt
through them for any Interpretation
of such an inane proceeding. One OF
his schoolmates, however, had gone
| to college and had become a profess
| sor. To him Elakely wrote an ac-
count Of the episode, asking for an
| Interpretation
Alicia possibly wished to test ST.
| las common sense.
IT was a long while before he re-
ceived the Interpretation to the co.
nundrum, but when II came he open
| ed his eyes and his heart started up
at a gait of hundred beats to the
minute. The same evening, getting
off his farm clothes and into very
respectable outfit In which, by the
way, he looked very well, he went 10
| call on Alicia:
Il have come" he said, ito offer
/ all have--that is. my farm with a
mortgage on it--for the flower Wild
| ow."
"And how" she asked, blushing
and smiling, did you learn what is
meant by flower widow
Blakely told her OF his application
and showed her the reply, which was
as follows:
I'm India man often remains un-
| married longer than he would de-
sire simply becaus| he cannot afford
IN INV tha cup, fha fathnr af do