Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-06-13
A FEMININE
PROPOSAL
By MARY D. VINCENT

ohitOAo llOSlit hhhNNAos
and even If they were not there was
not one among them that she would
marry. Miss Vincent mad attended
lectures at a college. and one of the
assistant professors or instructors had
caught her fancy. That was when she
was seventeen, and an impression
made upon a girls heart at that age
Is liable to take a very strong root
At any rate, after graduation she
managed to keep in touch with him.
But young Professor Twining of the
chair of botany, while he showed
friendliness. did not evince love.
Whether he felt it or not Miss Vincent
could not tell. All she knew was
that be never passed the bounds OF
patonic friendship. She suspected
that what drew her sujtors-her for
tune-acted as stumbling block to the
professor. She suspected mt times that
he would like to make love to her. but
! having nothing but small salary With
which to paltch her half million of dol
lars refrained.
Professor Twining took great inter
est in the customs of eastern people.
especially those of India. and natural.
ly interested Miss Vincent in the same
subject. SO she read all the books she
could find about India and how the
! people there passed their daily lives
| One item that she came upon interest
ed her especially. 1t was this:
"ln India a man often remains IN
| simply because he cannot afford TO pay
! the sum the father of desirable
| daughter demands of his would be SON
in-law. Widows. however. are cheap.
and willy father who finds his daugh-
ter is getting on in years While suitors
tarry takes advantage of this fact. He
marries the girl to u bunch of flowers.
which he then throws into a well.
| Thus the lady becomes technically
widow, and as such she is a bargain in
the marriage market Thus the flower
widow is secured as a wife by a suitor
who would not have dared offer small
sum for her before her so called mar
rage"
Now, it occurred to Miss Vincent that
Professor Twining. being familiar with
the habits OF the people OF India. mad
met with this same information. 1t
struck her fancy to use it as hint that
she would look kindly on a proposition
of marriage in case he felt disposed 10
make her one. 1t would certainly be a
delicate way of showing her partiality
mount to proposal from her to him.
She spent a good deal of time conjur'
ing up way of indicating to the pro-
fessor that she had become a flower
widow and finally went at 1t in this
way:
She invited the professor to come and
see her under the pretext that she had
new plant upon which she desired
some information. She was at her
country place. and her plants had been
removed from her conservatory TO their
beds in her spacious gardens. When
Professor Twining called she took him
out and showed him the plant IN ques.
ton. There was nothing peculiar about
it. and be wondered why she mad
brought him TO ask him questions
about so ordinary plant.
II do so love my dowersr she said.
DO you know, come out here alone
and chat with them. They say very
sweet things to me-"
While she talked she plucked one
here and there. making up bouquet
The professor naturally supposed that
she was making 1t up for him.
How do you love your flowers" he
asked-"as flowers or as representa-
tives?"
my lover Is in them." was her re
ply. 1T is he who says the sweet
things. while the flowers themselves
look at me so innocently that his
words seem more tender than they
would without the flowers. These that
| hold in my hand are my husband"
"But If your husband is in the bou.
quet you must have new bouquet
and a new husband every day. BY to,
morrow these must be discarded. In
that case you will never be widowed"
There was no reply to this. They
walked on, chatting in this vein, till
they came to well. Leaning over 1t.
Miss Vincent threw her bouquet down
into it.
Did he know the Indian custom ?
And what would he do If he was
familiar with it? Would he see the
connection between her act and the
eastern custom? Bending over the
well, she dare not look up. She saw
her face reflected In tlfe water below.
and the sight made her dread that
Twining should see it, for 1t showed
agitation.
He came and leaned over the well
beside her. He did not see her face.
but he saw its reflection. He not only
saw the image. but he had long been
familiar with the custom of making a
girl widow that she might be mar
ried to poor man
Margaret, too, saw the reflection OF
her face and felt his hand laid upon
her waist
That is all there was of 1t that can
be told. What were the words of the
acceptance of the proposal Mrs Twin