Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-01-28
Three Old Maids
And a Widow
And the Prize They Set Out
to Capture.
BY C. o. LEWIS.

There are few towns OF 1900 popu
I lation that can boast of three ole
maids and II widow living on the sam
street. but that was the case witt
Clifton. Miss Vinton was au old maid
because she never had met with q
man good enough for her. Miss Hop
kins was an old maid because the
Young man she would have married al
eighteen was sawed In two III a saw
mill. and she had vowed to he true to
mis- memory. Miss Warner was an old
maid because she was determined TO
marry none but a minister, and all the
ministers who came were already pro-
vided for. The Widow Carter was o
widow because part OF a house hao
fallen on her husband.
The old maids IL tho widow were
on visiting terms-in fact. they rather
liked each other. Where there are no
male candidates for matrlmony con
rerned old maids and widows can SIT
down together on the same veranda
without quarreling. After the widow
Ind sOlemnly assured the old maids
that nothing on the face Of this earth
could induce her TO be fnlse to the
memory OF her crushed the quarter
loved each other even more.
One day one of the merchants in the
town sold ont. and a stranger came to
take his place. Ii he had been a mar
ried man the dove of peace would have
continued to hover over Rose street.
but HIS be was single. only thirty and
a "catch" the dove saw q hot time
ahead.
The widow let no grass grow under
her feet in calling at the store and In
cidentally mentioning her name and or
dering four pounds of sugar all at
once. She was one Of the -Four Hun
dred Of the town. and on the part OF
the other 800 she babe Mr.. Strong wei
come to their midst. When he had
thanked her she ordered two nutniess
and II paper of starch, In addition to
the sugar, to let him understand that
she wasn't Obliged to pinch pennies
and then departed.
An hour later her r~eprehansible con-
Duct was known to the three old maids,
and up went three pairs OF hnnds: six
eyes we're turned upward In horror and
three mouths opened to exclaim in cho-
rus. How ~shocking!'
Then. during the next two days. each
of the old maids made al excuse to
call at the store and follow the pro
gram carried out by the widow. Each
Thought she was sly md slick. hut they
found each other out. and from thai
moment the bond Of friendship snap
ped asunder like an old cl0thesline left
out In the storms Of p year.
When women make war on each 9th
er they don't use fence rails to pount
each other on the head. In most case'
they 10 right on treating each other ii
nicely as they can to their fnces. bn
using daggers and the darkness TO as
sassinate. The three old maids and thu
widow gathered together as OF yore
hut the dagger wis used whenevel
there was the least show.
Mr.. Strong proved Il social success
The widow gave a little dinner ant
=. brought him ont. but the old maid.
really monopolized him for the ever
ing. Then Miss Warner gave an exit
bition Of her own paintings. which con
sisted of a COW apparently thirty-si'
feet long and OF n river running III
stream instead OF down. and the wild
ow held Mr.. Strong's attention for al
hour while she talked about her crush
ed and departed.
At the end OF six weeks the man VIII
ran the snwmill and had a mortgage
on the mill dam figured 1t out to hi
wife:
There are three old maids to on
widow. but IF the widow gets left she
be the first ore | ever heard Of"
Even the small boys around town no
tfced how girly the old maids were be
coming. They riggled: they uttere'
cute little screams when they turned
corner and found themselves fnce I
!. face with n cow: they Uttered whel
they asked for g,tmdrops Mt the gro
Gerry. As for the widow. she set he
!. Jaw and walked into the store two o
three times Il week to ask the mel
fUuIlI IL he tItlSlIk Tue NtNtiiN. NV
+, cnth National bank of BOSTON was pei
fectly sound and to sigh with relic
when he assured her OF his confdenc
, in the institution. Sly reports wer
o atloat that Mr. Strong was pnvini
, his attentions to this or th"t one of tn
four. Then the other three would re
? ply M one:
well. may be he Is. but what o.
!, earth ne cnn see In her Ia more than
can nuke out. She grows more home
!, " and dowdified every day. Of conrs
i, I'm telling you this in confidence, an,
of course. it won't 20 further
One fatal evening tragedy after trnp
rdv happened. aud the light went on
/. of several happy households. MI
Strong boarded with n family livtn
half n mile from the store. He wante'
:. the walk. Tie had to cross the hridg
aver the river. and ascend a hill coy
cred with woids. and there wasn't
aouse between his boarding place an
the town.
The TN ee Old maids and the widow
had had their eyes on this rnAd iron
the first. They Ind soon begun walk
Ing for exercise. They didn't walk a
the bours TIE. merchant might lie ex