The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-05
The Widows Mite
From the Pictorial Review.

I rom Lue HICLOTldl fteV1eW.
 Everybody seems to look upon a widow as legitimate prey. have been widow five years and the number of times that I have been approached with a plausible scheme for separat- ing me from my money would run up into the hundreds.
 l have schooled myself to be wise" as business men term it. They cannot understand me because now it is hard to fool me on business deal.
 I remember when I had been wid- ow but three months, having a card sent up from a man who said he had been a close business associate of my husband. I found him courteous, well -dressed man, with good presence. He said he had met me while I was on a trip west with my husband three years before. I often took trips With my husband. who was a well-to-do bus- mess man with interests in varied af- fairs and I frequently met his friends on these trips. so I accepted his story without demur, especially as he named city I remembered, although I could not recall his name or face.
 He condoled with me in beautiful language on the death of my husband. He described him in glowing terms as one of his best friends He had come, he said. from long trip through the far northwest, where he was deeply interested in lumber operations and had looked forward to this visit to St. Louis and my husband. He had planned to look up his old friend the first thing and was grieved beyond description to find that he had passed away.
 I was ready to believe every word he said until he spoiled it by his eagerness He said he found himself without ready money and hoped I could cash check for $65 for him. Said he hadn't had rn fn hon r hafn ,ivarr out to call on me and by the time he got back to town the banks would be closed. He had come away from the hotel in such haste that he found him. self without small change
 dried my tears. I was a widow, but owing to the business acumen of my husband, I was not so credulous as some widows It was hard for me to believe that this polished gentleman would really want to do me out of $65; but remembering the instructions Of my husband. I courteously assured him that never kept large sums of money in the house.
 He offered to accept $25 on the check and come back the next day for the rest--or, better still. he urged, I could come down town with him and indorse it at the hotel.
 He came down to $10 and then to $5. When l remained snilingly obdurate, ms eyes gleamed with anger; but he retained his pleasant charm and con fessed 1t was ridiculous, truly, but he did not have the car fare back to the city. Would I mind getting out my electric and driving him back to the | hotel?
 l produced nick el that was lying idle on the table and offered 1t to him with smile. as I would offer it to a friend. We made quite a joke of 1t and he bowed himself out with much l politeness-without the s65 he had come to wheedle out of the helpless, confid- | ing widow.
 | I found the same state of affairs everywhere I turned. I was flooded swith requests. even demands from | friends and strangers for permission
 to invest my money for me. in vain I
 assured them that my husband had l safely invested it before his death and
 l did not care to change. Alluring prospects were dangled before my eyes.
 Old and trusted friends of my husband
 kindly offered to take charge of my
 business affairs. They pointed out that
 they would be glad to remove all wor-
 ries from me so that I might indulge
 my grief without hndrance from the | care Of money matters
 IT had taken their advice would
 have had no nfoney matters to hinder me. They would have stripped me of
 every penny.