Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-23

| think it would be a good thins
just to let Aunt Bette blindfold
every unmarried person in this town
and marry them to the first person
they touch hands with. 1t would be
fun for her and then we could have
peace and apparently as much hap
piness as we are going to have any
way. Mrs. johnson seemed to lie in
somewhat the same state of mind as
l found myself.
"Humph," she said as we went up
the front steps, "I'll be glad when
you are married. and settled, Molly
Carter, so the rest of this town can
quiet down into peace once more, and
l sincerely hope every woman undar
so in Hillsboro who is already mar
ried will stay in that state until she
reaches that age; but | do believe
If the law marched widows from
grave number one to altar num5er
two they would get into trouble and
fuss along the road; but come on in
both of you, and help me get thls
marriage feast ready, If ] must! The
day Is going by on creased wheels
and | can't let Mr. Johnson's crit
chefs beSneglected, Al Bennett or no
AL Bennett!
And from then on for hours tn1
hours ] was strapped to torture
wheel that turned and turned, minute
after minute, as it ground spice and
sugar and bridal meats and me re-
lentlessly into a great suffering pulp.
Could | ever in all my life nave
hungered for food and been able TO
get it past the lump in my throat
that grew larger with the seconds;
and if Alfred's pudding tasted of the
salt of dead sea-fruit this evening,
it was from my surreptltious tears
that dripped into 1t.
1t was late, very late before Mrs
Johnson realized it and shooed me
home to get ready to go TO the train
along with the brass band and al
the other welcomes.
| hurried all l could. but for Ions
minutes stood in front of my mir
ror and questioned myself. Gould
this slow, pale, dead-eyed, sllm
dropping glrl>be the rollicking child
of a Molly who had looked out OF
that mirror at me one short week
ago? Where were the wings on hel
heels. the CLINT in her curls, the
laugh on her mouth and the devil II
her eyes?
Slowly at last | lifted the blue mus
lin. twenty three-inch waist -shrouc
and let 1t slip over my head and fal
slimly around me. | had fastened
the neck button and was fumbline
the next one into the buttonholf
when | suddenly heard laughing ex'
cited voices coming up the stree
that ran just under my west WINDOW
Something told me that Alfred >hae
come in the five-down train instead
of the six up, and | fairly reeled t
the window and peeped through tn
shutters.
They were all in a laughing grouI
around him, with Tom as master o
ceremonies. and Ruth Chester was
looking up into his face with an eX
preston | am glad | can never FOR
get. 1t killed all my regrets on thu
score of his future.
If took two good looks to take hin
all in and then ] must have missed
some of him, for all in all, he was 81
large that he stretched your eyes e
behold him. He's grown seven Zee
tall, ! don't know how many pounds
he weighs and Ndont want anybod'
ever to tell me!
I had never thought enough abou
evolution to know whether I believes
| in 1t. and woman's suffrage, but | d.
now! / know that millions of year
ago a great, big, distinguished hippo
potamus stepped out of the wood
and frightened one of my forefather
so that she turned tail and fie'
through a thicket that almost tor
her limb from limb. right into tn
arms of her own mate. That's VIVA