ADVERTISING FOR A HUSBAND.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 193, 21 July 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

ADVERTISING FOR A HUSBAND.

A READER'S EXPERIENCES. LEAP YEAR—A middle—aged woman good-tein]>ered, domesticated, without money, offers herself to a lonely eluerly man in comfortable circumstauces who would appreciate a complaisant helpmeet. Reciprocal cunlidence and reference. This advertisement was ins rted a Brighton newspaper by a reader whose experiences are related in a rote to us (says a London paper.) Judging from this letter it would appear that a Leap-year proposal is treated with considerable levity in t.us 20th Century of our-. Describing the result of her advertisement. our reader writes: — " Whv is it that when a woman take= advantage ot leap year, she invariably lis ridiculed and misunderstood:' M> I own case proves this statement. L\ I litigation 1 lost my a good home and every comfort in life. After trying various posts 1 came to tact I conclusion that I could only he happy in a home of my own, and dee'ded to take advantage of leap year, thinking there must lie some nice old gentleman that I could make happy. "I am a woman of titty, good appearance, thoroughly companionable, good tempered and adaptable to circumstances. I have been used to servants, but I can do without. 1 inserted this adv. in our local paper which has six editions daily—for a week and only got six np'ies, all of wh'ch came from persons inclined to foolery. One obviously from a lot of silly old maids in a boarding-house — a most ridiculous letter. I hey thought tiiey would have an afternoon's amusement out of me, but they didn't. Another was an illiterate effusion from a well-known hotel. The writer may have been the potman. "Another from an old gentleman who was afraid his income wou'd not be sufficient (he did not say what it was), but requested a meeting outside the G.P.O. A red silk handkerchief was to be the sign. As I did not get the letter until two hour.' after the appointed time, and .he gave no name or address, that was no good. Another reply came from an extremely countrified place'' The spelling and writing were atrocious, and could only be guesed at. No. 5 came from a sporting gentleman, presumably, for his recommendation was 'that lie was a good shot and could keep the larder well supp'icd.' Perhaps he was a poacher 1 "T'ie last letter gave me much annoyance. I took the trouble to find out about the writer, and instead of being, a» he said, ' i xhoLir, musical, the publisher of '■ cveral hooks, with a good income, aged oS,' he was a broken down old man of shabby appearance. living in a very common part of the town. I summed rim up as 'non oompos mentis.' "Now, honestly, dear Editor, don't v".u thnk such an advertisement as mine should have been responded to in a different way from th's? Ido not sec why a woman should not exercise her right to offer herself during the permissible time, and be treated with respect instead of ridicule.