The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-02-28
BY LAWRENCE ALFRED CLAY.
tCopyright 1871. by Associated


Literary Press
AIRS. George Armstrong, relict OF
George Armstrong, OF the village ol
Brunswick had passed her year OF
mourning. and there were gossips III
Tho village mean enough to say that
she was in the market again. 81
course, they did her injustice. Ne
widow is ever in the market. IT 1t sc
happens that women contract Sec
ond marriage IL is a matter of sur
prise to them. They didn't plan to
and how they came to do 1t is a mat
ter to puzzle them.
Ii was true that the widow Arm
strong was looked upon with favor
by several men. There was the piano
tuner that came down from Cleveland
every two or three months on his
rounds III the villages. She had no
piano. but he called and discussed
grand opera with her. He had long
hair and WILD eyes and dandruff on
his coat collar. and he had thrown
out hints that his artistic soul longed
tor 9 mate.
Then there Vas the sewing machine
man He had short hair, tame ewes
and no dandruff. but he had his good
points. He had committed pages ana
pages of Shakespeare TO memory and
between the way he could spout them
and repair q sewing machine was
something to make widow sit UP
and think.
And then there We're the village
butcher. the lightning rod man. the
druggist over at Liverpool and the
man who came twice "a year 10 sell
the farmers fertilizers and lBbor-sav-
ing machinery
For not icing market, and Ter a
woman who did not in the least en-
courage the HattcTy OF men. the
widow Armstrong was we'll provided
for. The last, hat not least, of her
admirers was the village carpenter.
Iiis name was Phillips, and he was
bachelor, lie was a coy man and
shy man. bf course, he couldn't
always run away when he saw "a wo-
man coming, but he talked as little
as he could and got away as soon as
he could He hadn't married simply
because he was shy.
II was when the widow Armstrong
laid off her weeds that a great event
happcned in the life of MIR. Phillips.
J1e found himself thinking of her
NOT thinking whether she wanted q
summer kitchen built GA to her house.
or the picket fence repaired, hat OF
her as prospective wife, lie thought
and hlushe6 He thought and dodg ed
He thought and felt chills. Ii was
no use TO Danish the thoughts. Once
they got a foothold they stuck by him
Ike porous plaster. But what
could tho poor man do? There he
was. born shy ard coy, and the widow
might marry twenty times over be-
fore he would dare 10 tell her Of his
love. Tie did brace himself To walk
l.
to Sit in the pew behind her al
church. hat at the same time he rca-
Iized that widows are not won that
way. He even went SO far as to put
a hinge on her gate and make her "a
press board, gratis, hut was that
eourging and telling her that he could
not live without her
And all the while MIR Phillips was
loving and hoping and despairng. he
WAS hearing from the gosSips hoN
this or that man was laying siege te
The widow $ heart He Just groanet
as he listened ~ t71e taik Then The
hour came to him when it must b,
either suicide or q bright idea Tn,
fright idea came just as he was
selecting a rope and a limb
The widow Armstrong had had Z
pleasant day Of H. The butcher. the
N5hfstAt thhti iAIA Inv lfR i1ifikHE -fttAa
man had all called the same after,
noon and laid their hearts at hel
feet. She hadn't refused and ira m.
pied on them-oh, no She had sim
pity said that she fcft honored ant
IL in the far distant future year.
and years in the future--she shoulC
desire to marry again
They had TO be content with this
Nc wise widow ever turns a MAJ
down 80 completely as 10 leave hin
without a hope to cling to- Mrs
Armstrong went 10 bed happy ane
fearless. but at midnight she wa