The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-07-18
She Escaped Being
An Old Maid
By BARBARA PHIPPs

=
an Tell me how to win a woman"
"All the ways of doing itr'
NO; good way"
IF | were to tell you all Of them i
would never get through. Generally
women are won by trihes-that Is,
they are considered trifies, but in the
feminine mind. or, rather. heart, they
stand for a good deal Incorrfgible
cases sometimes need to be won by
getting the rebellious object of mans
affections 30 tied that she can't get out
Of it Then she accepts the situation.
and time. intimate association and
marriage do the rest"
81 wonder IL I couldn't do that with
Edna?' q
John had been counting Edna for a
long while without seeming to have
made the slightest impression He had
proposed seven times and been refused
every time.
what does she say when she re-
fuses your asked
1.-THE last time I asked her she said
that she could never choose a man she
knew because she would be sure to
zee in him multitude Of faults"
Complimentary to you. wasn't tit
why don't you persuade her to marry
a man as she would buy a lottery tick
ct, then contrive to be that mAnF
Il don't understand you"
Perhaps / can arrange 1t for you"
A few months later / said to John,
'sPve got 1t all fixed"
"HowT'
IL didn't dare to act directly In the
matter, knowing well that l, being
your sister, Edna would infer that I
was acting in your interest, so sent a
third party to her, Martha jenkins
Martha had a talk about matrimony
with her and saw plainly that Edna
would like to be married. She said
facetiously that the only way she could
tie herself up with a man would be
to marry some one In the dark. Mar
tina advised her to do that very thing.
Then my emissary began to hold up
picture of the old maid living alone
through life and an old age, contrasting
1t with view of a wife and mother
surrounded by beings whom she had
brought into the world. She has kept
this up ever since, declarisg hat
chance is as good as love tQub6$e a
marriage on. and the advice 81 4 dis
interested party Is better than either
To this Edna laughingly asked Martha
to choose q husband for her. Martha
refused unless Edna would consent to
marry him In the dark. Edna was
long time agreeing to this. BAT @fas
finally wen over, because she dreaded
to be an ed maid and couldn't make
the matrimonial plunge with her eyes
open"
"And Martha Is to nominate mer'
cried John.
"Of course-that is, If I ask her"
ASK her at once"
1t wQuld require a large volume to
lay down the backslidings of Edna
Marsh in her efforts to marry a man
she had never seen and who she
knew would not be recommended un-
less he were worthy of her. She broke
seven appointments for the wedding.
not knowing that she was breaking
one for every refusal she had given
the man she had agreed to marry. On
making the eighth Martha told her
that IL she broke It she might look
elsewhere for aid to escape spinster-
hood. But by this time Edna was des-
lperate and came to the scratch like a
lamb to the slaughter.
While Martha had Edna In training
II had John. He feared that Edna
would consider herself to have been
tricked and would turn against him.
Well. the wedding day came round
The nuptials were to occur at Martha's
home. There was no provision made
rs to the time the couple should begin
living together. IL at all. All that was
left to their future wishes. They were
simply to be tied together 30 that they
couldn't break apart without a lot of
trouble. OF course l was one Of the
invited guests. the only other two be-
ing Edna's mother and Martha-that
- to say, Martha ana I invited our
selves. She and I went to the house
together-I thickly veiied-and we were
ushered into a room into which not a
ray Of light was permitted to per
meate.
We had been there about Ave min
utes when we heard a carriage door
close with a bang. knew 1t was
John, who was to come to her wedding.
so mufled as not to be recognizable.
We heard him go into the adjoining
room, which also was as dark as Ere
bus. Then Martha and went into
that room. The clergyman had gone
IN before any Of Us. Edna came in
through the anteroom. fancied 1
could hear her teeth chatter. l heard
persons moving about and presently
the parson began the service-from
memory. When he had finished doz-
en- electric lights were turned on.
Edna looked up at John. First a
look Of infinite relief appeared on her
face, and then, perhaps induced by the
severe reaction, she put out her arms,
and they Rugged. We all breathed
sigh OF relief, knowing that for the
present at least we had not made trou-
bic. 1t turned out that we had effect
A a varv hannv marrfaCa Edna xraa