The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-06-01
Miss Mayhews
Column
Copyright. 1891. western Newspaper Uni
By CALVIN HENDRICKS.

Copyright. 1921. western Newspaper Union.
Miss Alice Kent was the brightest
newspaper woman on any Of the met
ropolitan dailfes. Everybody admit
ted that, and besides, Mclaughlin, who
was {on the copy desk, told her that
he had heard the city editor say so.
Perhaps he was prejudiced in her ia
Vol, but his words came to her spirit
as balm and nectar at a period when
life seemed like a black tunnel stretch
Ing away until Miss Mayhem came
back. : x ri Ee&@ +
It was not that Miss Kent had be-
come distrustful OF her powers, or
blase. No, there was a. deeper rea-
son. Miss Agnes Mayhem, who gave
advice to distracted lovers In two
halfcolumns every afternoon, had
been called home to Ohio on account
OF her mothers illness, and the worst
of 1t was that she had just got to the
bottom Of her basket. Those lovers
who had, presumably, been waiting
through many dreary days to find the
answers which should solve their own
peculiar and unparalleled problems,
had all been answered. -. r..
Miss Mayhem took her work Sc
riously. 81 -
That was why Miss Kent felt dis
consulate. She had been taken off
her reporters job and set to answer
ing the imbecilities Of .Cupid's vic
Tins. She let the letters accumulate,
and by the third day she had quite a
batch of them. The first that she
took In hand ran al follows:
'"My Dear Miss Mayhem:
"You have given so much good adj
vice to others that perhaps you will
help me. A young gentleman is very
fond of me. like I am of him. We
love each other dearly. There is only
n vice he has. After he takes me
to the theater he wants me to kiss
him good-by after he takes me home.
My friends tell me that I ought not
to let him kiss me as we are not en-
gagged. What ought I to doT
This time Miss Kent could not 60
wrong, for one of her predecessors
forms exactly covered this common
situation. Miss Mayhem was adaman-
tine where propriety was concerned.
"No lady" she wrote, twill ever
offer her lips to a man under any cir
cumstances, unless she is engaged to
him. You must tell your friend firm
~ but politely that you cannot per-
NIT such conduct"
After she had put this letter aside
Miss Kent was quite thoughtful for
q long time. The paper was crowded
that day and there was only room for
n more answer. It was as follows:
"Dear Miss Mayhem:
II am a blonde and I have been 60
ing with a young gentleman for q
year. We love each other dearly. He
has v asked me to marry him.
Would 1t be wrong for me to tell him
I love him? I am nineteen and am
considered rather good-looking."
Something of Miss Mayhew's
adamantine resolution nerved Miss
Kent's right hand.
f"No woman ever tells q man that
she loves him until he has asked her
to marry him." she wrote.
II wonder" she reflected, as she
laid her pen aside, whether Miss
Mayhem was writing from experience
when she penned Form f."
Her task was over at last and she
rose up and went to the wardrobe for
her hat.
"It is good discipline to be sponsor
for all the Iove-struck idiots in town."
she reflected.
~ II beg your pardon?" inquired Mr..
Mclaughlin. He was passing out
toward the corridor and had stopped
to watch her pinning her hat to her
hair. It was a nice hat and nice
hair.
1T beg your pardon?" he repeated.
"Did> you say something, Miss Kent?"
20, dear no, / was just soliloquiz-
ing" she answered, giving her hat a
final pat to strafghten 1t.
Mclaughlin paused irresolutely.
"You look quite tagged" he said.
"'Say. Miss Kent, won't you'll mean
would you mind having dinner with
me tonight. somewhere? And then
maybe VIZ car take in q show after
ward-yesT Il. 80.
II don't know that I ought to-" Miss
Kent answered, but her smile was dis
tinctly affirmative. So they set out for
a Scandinavian restaurant. They
sat down at a table which had been
made for two exclusively, and there
the lights and the music and the
merry conversation Of the other diners
made Miss Kent forget all about Miss
Mayhem and her miserable CORE
spondents. 81, 9Sss z t zs8 n
And then they fell to chatting ana
? fingered over the meal so long that
neither knew whether the fish had
been served OF whether 1t was the
salad they were waiting for. :
When at last Mclaughlin left Miss
Kent at the door of her apartment he
hesitated, and, as he looked back
over his shoulder at her, fumbling
with the key which somehow would
not ft the lock Of the door, he sud
denly came back again and took her
In his arms and kissed her.
To her amazement, all she did was
to put her arms round his neck and
say:
20, Richard, ! love D with all my
heart" y.E