214 
THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
after the seventh offer of marriage had been laid by Miss 
Theo before the board, and that sagacious body of men 
had devoted a whole business meeting to discussing the 
affair, and had been obliged to adjourn at last, leaving 
much important business connected with the school un¬ 
touched. After this Miss Theo was so inquired after, 
laughed about, and condoled over, that the board quite 
lost its temper, and, with masculine inconsistency, instead 
of cherishing resentment toward its sarcastic wives, wer^ 
indignant with the innocent and confiding Miss Theo for 
being the unconscious cause of their sufferings. 
About this time a new member was added to the board 
in the person of Eugene Dascomb, a wealthy and hand¬ 
some bachelor of forty. Eugene had never heard of Miss 
Theo, but at their first meeting he surrendered to her 
mature charms the heart which had hitherto withstood 
all the assaults of youth and beauty; and when, at their 
third interview, she entrusted to his ears in strict confi¬ 
dence the sad tale of her early love and loss, he was im¬ 
pelled by an irresistible power to apply for the vacant 
situation. Miss Theo was surprised and delighted out 
of all prudence, and for once forgot the very existence of 
the board and accepted him on the spot. But habit re¬ 
asserted itself, and, meeting George Barlow the following 
day, Miss Theo, with sparkling eyes and an animated man¬ 
ner, quite at variance with her usual confiding and languid¬ 
ly appealing bearing, informed him that she had received 
another offer and one which she felt inclined to accept. 
Mr. Barlow said he hoped she would do nothing rashly; 
his brotherly interest in her was of such long standing 
that he felt he had a right to warn her not to change her 
condition except from the worthiest of all motives—a true 
affection for her suitor. Miss Theo blushed, but unhesi¬ 
tatingly replied that there would be no difficulty on that 
score, and that, although all the members of the board had 
been very kind to her, she could but rejoice that hence¬ 
forth she should be first in one heart. It struck Mr. Bar- 
low that her sisterly regard for him had undergone a 
cooling process. Happening to mention the interview to 
Mrs. Barlow, that astute little woman remarked : “ Poor 
Miss Theo! She has been fed all her life with husks ; 
perhaps at last the ripened grain has really been placed 
within her reach.” 
“ But, Miss Theo, you have refused so many offers al¬ 
ready that we have come to look on you as a fixture 
% here,” remonstrated Deacon Elderkin, to whom Miss 
Theo made her next avowal. 
“ Oh, those were of no consequence at all! ” cried the 
happy woman. “ I never had a gei!u—a really suitable 
offer before—I mean suitable in all respects and so 
wholly to my mind. I don’t think I could—ought to 
refuse this.” 
“ Do you think it would be right for you to accept an 
offer after repeatedly promising us to remain in the 
school,” asked John Greyson, less, however, from un¬ 
willingness to lose Miss Theo than from force of habit. 
“ But I never expected an offer like this ! I’m sure the 
only right thing for me to do is to accept it at once,” re¬ 
plied Miss Theo, with unquestioning decision, though 
she lacked the courage to say that she had already ac¬ 
cepted it. 
“What a relief to your conscience, John,” cried his 
wife when the matter came to her ears, “ to be burdened 
no longer with Miss Theo’s love affairs.” 
And the other wives of the board were not backward 
in the matter, and the honorable board was treated to 
Miss Theo’s love affairs at breakfast, dinner and tea, 
and even into the small hours of the night, until it was 
nearly distracted and quite ready to accept the resigna¬ 
tion which Miss Theo promptly sent in at the next 
meeting. 
“ What does the board propose to do with Miss Theo’s 
resignation ? ” asked Mr. Hemenway, the chairman of 
the board; “ the subject is open to any remarks or to a 
motion of any kind.” 
“ We certainly ought not to stand in the way of Miss 
Theo’s happiness,” suggested Greyson. 
“ And Miss Theo’s love affairs ought not to stand any 
longer in the way of the proper conduct of our school 
affairs,” asserted George Barlow. “ It is perfectly scan¬ 
dalous that we should have taken up so much time with 
them*n the past to the neglect of educational interests.” 
Eugene Dascomb flushed and winced. What love af¬ 
fairs could Miss Theo have had ? She had certainly 
assured him that she had never loved before, except the 
betrothed who had died during her girlhood. 
“ It seems to me this is a providential opportunity for 
getting rid of Miss Theo,” said Deacon Elderkin. 
“For my part, I can’t stand it much longer. These nine 
years that she has been with us she has been looking to 
me as a father for sympathy and advice, and I declare 
I feel as if I had brought up a round dozen of chil¬ 
dren.” 
Was this the way they spoke of Miss Theo, thought 
Eugene. “ Getting rid ” of her! Had he acted too 
rashly ? 
“ She seems very much in earnest now,” remarked an¬ 
other. “ She is certainly old enough to know her own 
mind by this time, for she owned to thirty-five when she 
came among us nine years ago, though she looks as young 
as ever.” 
• Here was another revelation for the startled Eugene. 
Had not Miss Theo assured him that she was barely 
thirty-five ? Had he made a fool of himself ? 
“ It’s my opinion that we have been confided in, and ap¬ 
pealed to, and flattered, and bamboozled by Miss Theo 
long enough!” exclaimed another. “It is Miss Theo’s 
love affairs at home, and Miss Theo’s love affairs on the 
street, and at the board meetings, and everywhere; it is 
more than human nature can endure. I move that we 
accept her resignation.” 
“ I sec-” commenced John Greyson. 
“ Hold on a—minute,” gasped Eugene Dascomb, in the 
desperation of the moment. “ Miss Theo seems to be a 
—a very—remarkable woman, indeed. Wouldn’t it be best 
to—to retain her services awhile longer—to—in short, to 
refuse to accept her resignation. We might not be able 
to get another teacher like her.” 
“ We don’t want another like her,” interposed Deacon El¬ 
derkin, “and she seems very anxious to accept this offer.” 
“ Do I understand that she has not yet accepted it ? ” 
asked Eugene, with a ray of hopefulness. 
