Evening journal., 1911-04-04
A WIDOWS
WANTS
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated lit
crary Press.

It was generally understood in the
village Of Crowell that Deacon Hen
derson had his eye on the Widow Gla-
zier Why not? The deacon was
fifty-fve and widower and wanted a
home. The widow was fifty and lone
ly.
Deacon Henderson dropped into the
widows cottage one day, and after
compIimenting her on her hollyhocks
and tomato vines he said:
"widder. do you know what the folks
are sayingT
LA. nor
''They are saying that you'n me
ought to get married"
"But / can't get my BREATH It's all
so sudden. Deacon, IL we get mar
ried wen live in your house, won't
we?"
1--WE will"
"And you'll put down a new carpet
on the parlor foorT
"For why? The one there is good
one"
IT'S a rag carpet, and it's twenty
years old. helped Sarah cut and sew
the rags. / shall want a brussels
with patterns OF roses"
''Uml Too much extravagance."
"Then j won't marry you
The deacon went away in a hun and
trying to make himself believe that
he had a lucky escape However. aft
er thinking it over for a week he re-
turned to say:
Il guess I'd be willing to buy that
carpet"
But ! want something else. We
must have three lace curtains They
must be long 'nuff to sweep the floor"
Store carpet and store curtainsp'
shouted the deacon in dlsmay. "Why,
widder, you'd bankrupt us in month";
No, mol Green paper shades are good
nun for u.s."
"Then I guess we won't get mar
ried. Folks have limited that you was
sttngy. and now ] see you are"
/ Away went the deacon for the sec
ond time, and for two days he patted
himself on the back He could figure
that he had saved over $50 on that
deal. The rag carpet and. the paper
shades looked good to him as he sat
in the parlor, but after three or four
days he found the old loneliness creep
ing over him. He would give In to
her. He waited one day more and
then called on her under pretense that
he had mislaid his family almanac
and wanted to know when the moon
would be in her third quarter. After
finding that out he said:
We'll, wilder. mebbe you are right
about the carpet and curtains"
Deacon, I've been thinking since
you were here we must have four
stuffed chairs to put in that parlor to
go with the new carpets and cur
| talns"
Saints and sinnersi Stuffed chairsl
Stuffed chairs in our psrlorl Never,
Widder Glazisr. neverl The carpet
and curtains would tempt Satan nun
don't propose to risk any more"
-Four stuffed chairs. deacon. and
mebbe a sofa to boot"
''Tm going home. Good day.
Those stuffed chairs, with an add.
tional sofa looming up in the near fu-
ture, were a shock TO the deacon.
They meant extravaganza; they meant
vanity: they meant the breaking down
Of long erected barriers. No: It could
not be. He must continue his lonely
life by his lonesome. He did continue
IL for ten long days and nights. Then
he went over to ask the Widow Gla-
zler II the tater bug had yet appeared
/ in her garden and to offer TO lend her
some paris green to dope him with if
/ he had No, the bug had not appear
ed. But the deacon had other things
TO say. Leaning on the well curb and
the widow standing in her kitchen
door. he observed
Il s'pose one can sit down on a stuff
ed chair2"
"Oh. yesw
And they don't make body valnf'
"Never heard Of it,"
And they are wuth the money yol
have TO pay for 'em?"
"They surely are!"
"wel. we might get 'em. Shall w
be married next month";
IL dunno. What about you
housef"
why, it's there IN the same oil
place. amt itt'
Yes. but it needs repainhng"
''You mean it wants another coat o
whitewash. Well. me and you viii d.
that together"
But we won't deacon. It's got t.
be paint-real paint, and two coats a
that. It's got to be pea green wit
darker green for trimmings"
For the first time I'm bis life the des
con lost consciousness and thing
whirled around with him. When h
braced up the widow was saying;
"And new front steps, and a ney
atdarvoIlr and a navu ntolraf fonca an