The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-08-11
BY LOUIS CARL STEIN.
Copyright. 1911. by the Associ


Literary Press)
Mrs. John Durham was what might
be termed an overlooked widow! She
was only thirty eight years old when
her husband died, and she was by no
means q homely woman. and yet at
the age OF 40 She was still a widow.
Such things DO happen in villages now
and then. The piano man may praise
widows eyes, the sewing machine
man praise her hair, and the tin ped
dler look at her with admiring eyes
and sigh, but that may also lead to
nothing. 1t had led to nothing, in the
widow Dunhams case. A widow or
any other woman must have an offer
Of marriage before she can refuse It.
The time came. Mrs. Durham was
still hanging on to her 10th year when
along canre Moses Frazer. living In a
village SIX miles away. Moses would
have come years sooner, but for err
cumstances over which he had no con-
troll. He had a wife, and having one.
the most he could do was to sigh
and wait. When the wife was gath
cred in by the Reaper and a year or
mourning had passed Moses was free
To call on the widow. When she look
ed ont Of the window at the click OF
the gate latch and saw him she knew
his errand.
Moses entered the house and talked
about this and that, and Ii was a long
time. and he had crossed and IN
crossed his legs many times before he
got up the courage to say
Widow. I'm alone in the world. ana
SO are YOU
ooh. but don't mind 1t" was tho
reply.
But l thought you might. Ii some-
how isn't natural for a woman to be
living alone, As the Bible says. there
ought 10 be man around the house.
! never read that in the Bible.
LeastWise, / shouldn't want a man
around under foot. 1t must be "a relief
TO yoa not to have a wife mussIng
around"
But IL amt widow-it amt" re-
plted Moses I'm So d!nged lonesome
don't know what to do. Sarah knew
how I'd feel about 1t. and on her diving
bed she said I'd better get married
again"
md she name any one
" ell no, but she might if she
hadn got short q breath / guess The
naming WAS 10 be left tn me.
Ana haze you picked the person
I have, widow. and that's what
brought me here to-day Yes. her
name is Durham, and I'm going ~
ash her right out X she'll have me-"
" ny, Moses Frazier" exclaimed ttis'
woman as she threw up her hands in
pretended astonishment You cant
be speaking to me. You can't mean
what you say"
Every last word Of ii. I'm here
after your heart and hand
My stars But this is no way 10
court a woman
. IN allow its little sudden. but
then We amt young folks who have,
. got 70 spoon. around l. Thought la.
tell you how / felt, and then give you
a Week To make up your mind"
widow Durham neither encourag-
ed nor discouraged. Moses let il 20
at that. lie was back in a week.
The widow kept him talking about
hogs and pumkins and huckwheat as
long as she could, aud then said:
Moses. perhaps it's my duty TO
marry you"
II know it Is"
But il do m going to have my
way about certain things"
You shall widow"
|. We must be married in a balloon
/ m not at all romantic, but | want
something different from Just calling
In the minister"
But how am / going to fix for a
balloon % he asked
Il don't know. but that's what
you II have TO do. No balloon, no
marriage"
Moses went riding through all the
| villages for twenty miles around ask
ing questions about balloons, and It
vas two weeks before he returned "a
! the widow, to say;
TIN willing to obleege but we can't
get no balloon here short Of thous-
and dollars, and mebbe not for that.
EVEN II we could. no preacher would
go up to marry us"
We'll. Moses. / don't want to seem
over particular" replied tho woman
after little thought. IF we can't be
married up in a balloon how about
down In a coal mine 90
That might do, If | can find one"
Moses went inquiring again. and
by and by ascertalned that the near
est coal mine Was 450. miles away.
and very wet place at that, Be-
sides, minister told him that he
wouldn't descend into coal mine
and marry couple for less than
hundred dollars. When the widow
Durham had been informed OF how
the matter stood she replied:
Il had rather set my heart on 1t,
hut l have always been woman to
sacrifice. Why can't we be mar
ried in a circus ring before all the
people,"
Why. I never heard Of such
thing We'd be almost took for
couple of cam els or something! No.
no"
Moses, we must be married in
circus ring or not at all"
Moses made his rounds again. It
was now September. and no circus
could be expected within ten miles
Of the village until the next sum-
mer When he spoke to his minister
about performing the ceremony the
good man exclaimed
"No-never! / should be put on
trial for doing such a thing"
you don't seem to be man OF
much energy" remarked the widow
when she had heard his third ex-
cuse. Il guess we had better drop
the matter