American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1912-08-08
A FEMININE
PROPOSAL
o. MARY o VINCENT

suitors that she didn't want These
suitors were mostly fortune hunters.
and even u they were o there WI
not one among them that she wodid
marry. Miss vincent had attended
lectures 1t 4 college, and one OF the
assistant professors or Instructors had
caught her fancy. That was when she
was seventeen and an impression
made upon . eirlt heart at that age
ID liable to take . very strong root
At any rate. after graduation she
managed to keep In touch with him.
But young Professor Twfning 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 he never passed the bounds of
q pIatonic friendship. She suspected
that what drew her suitors-her for
tune-acted as a stumbling block to the
he would like to make love to her. but
having nothing but a small salary with
which to match her half million Of dol
lars refrained.
Professor Twining took great inter-
est In b customs of eastern people.
especially those OF India. and natural.
~ 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 Gu NE upon interest
ed her especially. 1t wal this:
I'm India a man often remains I'm.
married longer than he would desire
simply because he cannot afford to pay
the sum the father of a desirable
daughter demands OF his would be son
in law widows, however. are cheap.
and n 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 a bunch of towers.
which he then throws into a well
Thus the lady becomes technically az
widow. and az such she Ii n bargain IN
the marriage market Thus the flower
widow Is secured as a wife by a sutton
who would not have dared offer a small
sum for her before her so called may
rlage"
Now. II occurred to Miss Vincent thhS
Professor Twining. being familiar with
the habits OF the people OF India. had
met with this same information. II
struck her fancy to use It as a hipt that
she would look kindly on a proposition
Of marriage In case he felt disposed to
make her one. 1t would certainly be a
delicate way OF showing her Partially
for him. Indeed. 1t would be tanta
mount to a proposal from her to him
She spent a good deal Of time conJur.
ing up a way of indicating to the pro
lessor 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
a new plant upon which she desired
some information She was at her
country place. and her plants had beef
removed FROM her conservatory to their
beds In her spacious gardens. When
Professor Tswining called she tool him
out and showed him the plant In Ques
ton. There was nothing peculiar about
II, and he wondered why she had
brought him to ask him questions
about so ordinary a plant.
II do so love my iowersr' 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 orr
here and there. making up a bouquet.
The professor naturally supposed that
she was making It up for him.
How do you love your Towers" he
asked las flowers OF as representa-
lives ?"
My lover Is In them" was her re
ply. 1T Is he who says the sweet
things, while the aowers themsel yes
words seem more tender than they
would without the lowers. These that
| bold In my hand are my husband"
"But II your husband Is In the bou
quet you must have n 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 The,
walked on. chatting In this vein. I'll
came to a well. Leaning over It.
Miss Vincent threw her bouquet down
into II.
Did he know the Indian custom!
And what would he do II be was
with II? Would he see the
connection between her act and the
custom Bending over the
well. she dare not look up She saw
her face reelected In the water below.
and the sight made her dread that
rwining should see II. for 1t showed
agitation.
He came and leaned over the well
beside her. He did not see her face.
but he sa " its reelection He not only
the image. but he had long been
with the custom or making IA
,irl a widow that she might be mar
D., N ,<4s