Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-10-29
The Front Gate.

In all ages the front gate has been recOg-
niZed as an indispensable element of real
courtship. OF course, girls have been
courted in brown-stone houses devoid of
front yards and of every species of practical
gate. but in such cases the poetry of love
making is lacking. According to Buckle.
Darwin and Spencer. domestic happiness
exist only in countries where front gates
abound. Why is it that the French marri-
ages are arranged by the parents of the
bride and groom. and are hence based, not
upon love, but upon convenience: And
why. in our favored land. are marriages
arranged without the slightest reference to
the old people: 1t is plainly, because in
France the front gate is rare and its true
uses are unknown. while in our rural towns
every house has its front gate. and the
mcrest child knows It's uses. French mar
riages contracted without the sweet iniiu-
ences Of the gate, are too frequently unhap-
py. but with us the the path Of domestic
bliss lies through the front gate. and it is
too plain to be easily missed. Among the
Romans the wife was little better than
slave. and on Sunday nights the young un-
married Roman, instead of spending his
evening in the dim, religious light Of the
back parlor." as Milton beautifully SAYS.
went to the circus or the amphithcatrc to
witness a gladatOrial walking match or the
antics of the Talmage of the period. The
discovery of Pompeii explains why court
ship was lost art among the Romans.
There was not a gate Of any kind in the
whole city wall. aud we have every reason
to suppose mat nothing analogous to our
front or back gates existed throughout the
wide extent of the Roman Empirr.
1t is in our Western States that the front
gate has reached its highest development of
an aid 10 cOurtShip AS is well known.
there are two schools which differ radically
i'm their theory Of the true method Of using
the gate. The Concord school, of which
Mr.. Ralph waldo Emerson is the leader.
holds that young men and young women
should lean on the same side of the gate
the inner side being regarded Is preferable.
The Western school, on the other hand, in
sists that the young lady should lean on the
inner side Of the gate. while the lover leans
on the other side Though the Western
school lacks leader Of the fame and expe-
rience of Mr.. Emerson, it has by far the
greater number of adhercnts. and - the I'M
preiudiccd mind there can be but little
doubt thai its doctrine is the true one.
II is easy TO comprehend how the front
gate originally came into use. The original
pair of lovers who first utilized it had doubt
less sought a place where they could enjoy
privacy. while vet afar of. the unsympa-
thetic father and the wayfaring small boy.
The locality Of the front gate, commanding
as il does a full view Of the house from
which the father may emerge with his
heartless boot, and the public street. along
which the casual small boy may wend his
whistling way. would naturally be selected
even by lovers wholly without engineering
instincts. Experience soon showed that
the front gate possessed other unequaled
stragctic advantages. To the eyes Of the
public the lover on the outside Of the gate
always seems 10 be in the act of going
away. When any one except the avenging
father drew near. the lover would remark,
well. as | was saying, must really 60;
and then, when the Objectionable person
had passed on. the sweet sorrow of prOlOng-
cd parting could begin again and last until
the appearance of an elderly gentleman
with a club at the front door seemed TO
point to the propriety Of an immediate and
real parting.