The daily Alaskan., 1912-12-23
Matchmaking During the Christmas
 Holidays
By F. TOWNSEND SMITH


 Helen would only marry some man who has the means to enable her to live as she has lived thus far would leave her, say, S2O,OOO and you the business. You will need all the capital in it to operate it and can make a handsome income out of It. Unless Helen is otherwise provided for 1t would be unjust to her to leave you the lions share"
 l made no reply to fathers state ment, but at once commenced to do a lob of thinking in the matter. Could I not bring about a match between Helen and some good fellow who had a fortuneY One of my classmates In college, Ned Culberton, would hll the bin very nicely. I hadn't seen him since we were graduated, but I had heard that his father had died and left him some S30OOO a year, The more thought about the matter the more in clined I was to try my hand at bit of loves diplomacy or, as the womeu put 1t, matchmaking.
 I wrote Culberton asking him what had become of him; if he preferred the real world to that preliminary world, college; whether he remembered our trying one night to get a calf up Into the beIfry; it he was married or eT- pected to be. He replied to my note, saving that he remembered the episode I had mentioned very well; that he wasn't married and didn't propose to beat least till he was too old to have any fun-and ended his letter by saving that he would like mighty well to meet me and talk over old times. This drew from me an invitation for him to join us at our cottage In the country, which we proposed to open to a few guests for the Christmas holt- days. The invitation was accepted, and I had made a beginning.
 But what more could I do than throw the two together?
 It occurred to me to tell Helen just what my father had said to me and suggest that she capture Culberton, but on second thought I saw that it would be the worst thing I could do. ltwould make trouble in the family, between Nell and father and me, for a woman doesn't understand the requirements of business as man does, and Nell wouldn't have appreciated fathers mo lives in not trammeling me with sis ter for partner. Then, again, any matchmaker who shows his hand tc either of the parties he is bent on bringing together especially the wom an-is a fool No; I must work out my own scheme without letting any one know what was about.
 Ned joined us a few days before Christmas. He was awfully pleased at the reunion with his old college chum and l could see was expecting to spend most of his time during his visit talk inC over our larks while we were un dergraduates | told him that there would be some very pretty girls in ouI Christmas party and I hoped they would succeed in interesting and anus ing him. He replied that he wasn't much on girls; he'd noticed since his fathers death that every girl he me, was trying to get him for his money.
 This didn't look very hopeful for my purpose, but I'd laid down my scheme and begun to act upon it before his ar rival. and if it worked at all it would probably work in spite of Ned's having been hunted by women who desired a feathered nest. What had done in the matter was this: The day before Neds arrival | sat down with Nell, took her hand in mine affectiouately and, look ing her in the eyes imprcssively, said to her:
 Before our party convenes there's something l wish to say to you about one of the expected guests, There's hardly any of us in this world who isn't afflicted with some weakness. My friend Ned Culberton is as fine a fel- low as ever lived. He was an honor man in college He and were in. innate friends for four years, and dur ing all that period I never knew him to do a mean thing, To go further back
 "Yes, yes; I understand that Whats his weak spoty'
 "Tu get to it directly. As 1 wa saying, to go further back, he was considered so fine a fellow at school that all the college fraternlties were after him, and he was pledged a year before he entered. He hadn't been in college a month'-
 "But what's his foible2 Are you never going to get to itf'
 Don't be in a hurry. l prefer to show you that in other respects he's a splendid man; then when I give you his weakness you will be inclined to look leniently upon 1t and not con demn him for one blemIsh when most of us have a lot of them. He hadn't been in college a month before he was picked out for head of his class and would have taken the valedictory, only he wasn't a grind and preferred to be captain of the university foot ball team, stroke oar of the university crew and pitcher of the baseball nine"
 "Oh, dear. What a wonder! His blemlsh must be something awful to condemn one who Is in other respects m Admirable CrichtOn."