, 1874-08-09

| HD was TAku8E u Eay fO4uti oot1 k@4S ~.A% A~~>
state was. perhaps, Of too much dignity and 70
eponBblitY for him: much as ne regrets " ~
mus. allow his charming fiancee 70 80 elaewher'
for solemn and venerable spouse. Whethe
| TINT be tlio explanation or not OF the announce
mont it is al least one TINT the young 1nan coh1t
| carry with hlm into society III LIS hearch 1or
| new bride.
Now, there can be no doubt that the publicity
| attending such matters In Germany ~ very uso,
| ful at times. 4 frightful amount OF mischief
shvness Of maidenB who Eacretiy pledge them
eelyes to marry. and remain profoundly anxious
that the fact should not be KNOWN TO begin
| Nth, unwolcou1e suito1s hang about the house.
and the accepted lover is driven to lIs wits, end
by Jealousy: while the former are kept idlin.
| their time away in I" foollng round" q girl who
| tegards them not. When tho neignbofs begin
| to Talk, and an indefinite amount Of scandal ii
| produced. Elderly persons, Who ought to be
| =, home saying their prayers, will devote hours
| particular young man dances with particular
young woman, aud afterwards 70 aboat declat-
IN. how that shameful creature Is docelIiDg her
parents. BY and BY the secret oozes out with
in certain circle; but the outside public knows
nothing Of it, aud ls left FREQ to make comments
it it finds those lwo young persons treating each
other with too much familiarity The lover
stumb1es into thousand yexatlons every day'.
II there is Quo t1ing more than another that
drives him wild it is TO hear his divine C}arinda's
about Lis inteutious- or course, il the young
men knew, they would as soou think oil tickling
the snout of 3 doing alligator as OF banterinS
u man really engaged about any such thing.
Tleu the young Lady is pleased to learn that her
continual mcetiny with a certain gentleman in
tho Row in tue morning has been remarked; !;
and CURIOUS elderly folks broadly hint that they
would really like to know il there is anything
in it," or course. there is much IN al this
secrecy. that girl likes. she IS willing to
to the wo.1d her relations with the suitor savors
to her Of unmaileuly bo1duess. She is not 90
slow to sanction the publication Of marriage
advertisement Then abe feels that tho die II
cast. But the German girl is pretty much of
the salno opinion when she is engaged; and sno
knows that engagements which have been thus
publicly announced are seldom broken OF. Mar
Tlngcs come to grief as well as engagements;
there is 10 certainty in life, however aniable
aud trustworthy tho English Johu and Ger
man Hams may appear in the eyes Of his beloved
ono. Sentiment aside. there arc social adyan-
tages accruinG from the frank publication OF tho
fact of M engagement which arc obvious to the
friends Of tile engaged young people, not to
themselves. .--
But these advantages are as nothing compared
to those which would attend tie custom OF for
nally aud publicly giving notice when an en-
gagemcnt Is broken OF. or all the Incidents Of
life there IL scarcely one which gives rise to such
an in.olerab1e nmount Of scandal as 4 Cancelled
u I4aAA41bG" It[tA4atAo1 ~ [os
a1i1e by it in Thousand directions; and tho
moro simple and Obvious the real reason for the
circumstance happens to be, the more EcorDfully
it is secuted by alarmed and puzzled, but also
delighted, friends. Scarcely anybody mho is in
two principal folks escapes tho mitrai1lcuse
shower Of suggestions aud suspicious,
while the girl herself, though she be as
tender as Juliet, as wiso al Pottia, and
as hardly sntreatGd ed as ophea sure
by those of her lady friends who always did con-
slider her sly. concated, and no better that she
should be. Look, on the other hand, at the op-
portuuity srch custom as that we mention
would afford to manly young fellow to come
forward and say: alt is with great regret find
my circumstances not such as would warrant ny
asking Miss Susan Smith TO forsaho con1forsa-
ble hume )" or, " Ny uncle having proved mean,
Miss Jane Herbert very properly refuses to
marry a man who cannot earn halfpenny for
Clara 3. seclev and myself having found after
long acquaintance tnat our tastes do not quito
agree, We cancel our engagement, and
prefer to remain friends, with every
sentiment Of mutual. esteem and respect"
Aud SO on in @ :bo1sand cases, in which
the young lady would, as it were. "leavo
the court without stain on her character" At
present what is tue result OF q broken engage
11ent when the period of weeping and calling
for nunncry Ii over? The Slrl earns a good |
she has bccn Tilted: and tho young man-who |
is probably quite innocent in tho mattct-is |
branded rs a monster not tit for this highly viz
tuous world. Then the story OF her having been !
Tilted gets abroad. and spreads and wakes luxu-
rant, until it's branches are as tho branches OF
the great tree Ysdrasi]. Meanwhile, Of course. !
young men who might have become s1utors are
warned of by vague hints and EurInlse5- Ihev |
cannot 70 to the former lover and asa what he
found wrong about the girls temper. or about
her relations, or about the legacy her aunt was
supposed to haye left her. All these things
would be avoided il the lover were to be allowed
to insert brief notice Ill the papers informing
tile world in polite terms that after ALL no found
ho was not good enough for her.