Show wry 2 ft SUITORS OF JK ENNETTa aas aini MELISSA FEARS A TOO DURABLE MATE mrs came into the room where her maternal maiden aunt jane was unwinding a skein ot bright blue berlin from the back of a chair there was a good deal of color in airs mer s cheeka and a mischievous light in her eyes which afie elder lady noted and which caused her to sigh quite pathetically what have you been doing now melessa Mell ehe asked with a decided accent onabe penultimate word mrs Merrl wid made the dimple ap pear in her check ald you hear a sort of a rumbling noise dearie ashe inquired in turn why no aunt jane answered wonderingly only the street door closing has mr Well along gonea I 1 put the rollers under him auntie replied mrs he has went and I 1 had the hairbreadth escape of my life too you came awfully near having a new nephew inlaw with an ash colored toupee and gold mounted teeth dearie not exactly new perhaps but in perfect re pair and warranted to last youre the worst said aunt jane with an air of displeasure mrs giggled I 1 am a case am I 1 not she assented but whenever I 1 see a well preserved man I 1 ali ways seem to suspect benzoate benz of youth he went on swinging his eyeglasses 1 I am no longer a romantic boy and I 1 shall make no impassioned plea I 1 prefer to bbate plainly my qualifications and circumstances I 1 have eum clent property to yield me a very good income and I 1 should expect to behave liberally in the matter of a settlement and maintain a comfortable it not luxurious establishment I 1 believe in allowing a woman a reasonable amount ol 01 freedom while reserving to myself the right of final decision in all matters of mutual concern I 1 am tolerably good natured fairly well connected my tastes are 1 I I 1 may say refined I 1 do not use tobacco or alcohol in any form and I 1 should maae my cifes happiness my study I 1 am inclined to think that it would be entirely her owal fault if she were not happy that was ft here I 1 hesitated auntie I 1 had to admit that it every woman had an option on a refined and nonalcoholic husband with a good income a substantial settlement and the assurance of as much freedom as would be good for her I 1 certainly hesitated perhaps la another moment I 1 might have been lost but right at that point ho queerer queered himself As I 1 said I 1 am not in the first flush of youth he repeated but opposed to that have nothing to tear from my indulgence IQ 1 want the gentle ministrations of a woman in my home j soda and glucose mr Well along was very sweet though and he certainly made an impression on me it he only made that last injudicious statement 1 I wish you would stop talking non sense and tell me what be did bay said aunt jane mrs curled herself in an armed chair and consulted the cell arg let me see she said what nas it be did say well he said that a widower a ufa was a lonely ono and that with the advance of years ha realized more and mora keenly the lack of aemile companionship I 1 re commended a chautauqua camp meet ing or if you care to identify your self with the woman suffrage movement get lots ot it I 1 BUS eeten it that und of companion hip I 1 mean mrs bo said cawing his chair up closer its an ot a more intimate and character hat I 1 feel the eed of I 1 want the gentle tons of a woman in my home and help la BO awfully bard to et I 1 murmured sympathetically 1 I know just exactly how you feel I 1 begin to tell you the trouble e bad since hilda ett me ou tried the intelligence offices im not speaking of servants ho aid 1 I can get all abo servants I 1 a ant but it lent eo caay to get a wife a lady of intelli gence and beauty with an iton an amiable disposition and domestic tastes that s what I 1 want mrs am I 1 presumptuous in hoping that I 1 may be fortunate to secure such rn inestimable he notched lila chair a little closer and looked at me with tour of through his bouble glasses 1 I sd ft you ask mo mr well along I 1 should eay that it ws some theres no law 1 opan but a ady of that de crept crl pt ia a pretty large order still 1 alo lead of them being 0 that in books you aro too modest mrs merrl ft id lie eald 1 I know a aay not a thousand miles away who Is exactly what I 1 describe and I 1 hac permitted myself to hope that the will listen to my sitf 1 I that his suit to be a very loud one As a matter of fact it was a very neat dark eluo serge ho merely smiled patiently and waved the remark aside with a graceful gesture 1 I am not in the first flush of youthful follies and I 1 have always taken particularly good care of my belt and as a enjoy remarkably mar kably good health furthermore I 1 como of a ions lived family my father lived to the ago of ninety four and with the exception ot a slight deafness was in full possession of all bis my grandfather was actually a centenarian well what then a ild aunt jane as her niece paused jt was thon that I 1 bot bojt the elildo adjusted the rollers carefully and jet him go replied mrs merrt ald it was a good proposition as far as it went but it seemed likely to go too far I 1 dont eay that an elderly husband isi t endur alc but me dearlo there ought to bo a limit to his durability copyright M by W G chapman |