Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-02-20
From tee Rural New Yorker,
TEAP WEAR.


"Albeit, as often as leape year
dothe occure, the women holdetl
prerogative over the MEME in mat
ter of courtshipe, love and matri
monee; so that when the ladie pro
poseth it shall not be lawful fo
MEME to marry her nae, but shal
receive her proposal in all gooc
courtesie."
To our knowledge the law ha'
never been repealed, and is there
fore as much in force now as it was
centuries ago. We make haste
then, to congratulate unmarried
lady readers Of the Rural upon the
existence of such a statute. Will
they take heart with the hint, and
lay earnest siege to bachelordom
Why should they not? Surely the
matrimonial affair is not so one
sided that the gentlemen are al
ways to claim the emoluments
Let not our brethren deem us here
tic when we say that in our opinion
leap year ought to come twice as
often as it does. All agree that
"popping the question" is very
fine, when done with a zest; then
why not allow the fair sex the priv
ilege of enjoying it just half the
time?
We believe in a fair division OF
the matter entire-advances, pro
posals, and-rejections. Yes, in
this particular point we are dis
posed to find fault. upon the old
law-giving. "But it would be very
ungallant," says pleasant tongue,
"for a gentleman to refuse lady"
Whereat we reply, and without the
least maliciousness, it is very un-
ladylike for a lady to refuse a gen
tleman, and yet the dear souls de-
light in, and we, poor souls are
distressed by, absolutely unyielding
rejections every day. Only give us
chance, now and ;hen, to say
"No,' or more qualifiedly, "Rcally
this is quite unexpected" or "You
completely surprise me, give me
time to consider" and see if ante
matrimonial felicities do not take
on a new guise!
Now, girls, (don't begin to pout
your pretty lips, J we have an idea
that if you could experience all
the disagreeable sensations which
you force upon the gentlemen, you
would not say "No," as you fire.
quently do, just for the fun Of hear
ing it. Consequently, if the right
to speak the important little mono
syllable were given to us, and we
could conscientiously forget the
golden rule awhile, don't you think
we could impart lesson not
wholly undeserved? Of course
you never happened to think Of
this in exactly this light. You
have taken a peculiar pleasure in
various little remarks hinging upon
the monosyllable aforesaid, with
never selious thought of the re-
verse of pleasure which they car
ried to masculine hearts, Stop and
think a bit, now that you are being
upon the leap year
come. Transpose the golden rule
so it shall read-"Let Others do
unto me even as l have done unto
them," and very little of good will
the advantageous twelve months
bring to you. Ringing in your
ears will be direful monosyllabic
echoes; the ghosts OF questions
answered in days gone
by will haunt you; and you will
constantly fancy yourselves listen
ing to negatives that are far too
real to be echoes
But alas what a dolorous pic
ture we have drawn! Pardon us,
0 yo gentle ones, and we will do
penance by limning in brighter col
ors. We will believe that you new
er said "Nae," unnecessarily, or un-
feelingly-that you never courted
a proposal, often as yourselves have
been courted,- that you wait
ed, in all the patience of your pa
tient souls, for this very selfsame
year of eighteen hundred and sixty
eight, that you might win some no.
bic sons of Adam who have been
too faint of heart to woo and win
you. How they ought to bless you
for all this waiting? How should
they be willing to say to each Of
you, as was said to another woman
away back in those days of old,
"Whither thou goest | will go !"
And in the sincerest editorial sim
cerity we hope they will thus do
and say.
If the new subject were not too
delicate for our laundering pen, we
would endeavor to treat of leap
year privileges in a practical man
ner, with the purpose to convey
valuable instruction. But we beg
of you, ladies, to excuse us. Your
feminine tact will avail more than
any amount of abstract theorizing,
in any or all of the circumstances
in which you may be placed until
the even year gives way to the odd
Moreover, we have not yet definite
ly settled in our own mind precise
ly how the question should be
"popped," to be properly feminine.
That matters little, we Opine, so it
is thoroughly done, and with hap
-. =. i l,4n