The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-11-13
J hC Front Gate,

In all ages the front gate has been rccnr-
niZcd rs an Indispensable element of real
c0,lrtShip. Or course, girls have been
courtrd in brown-sionr houses devoid of
front yards and OF every species of practical
gate, but in such eases 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 il 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 i'm our rural towns
every house has itsH front gate and the
mcrcst child knows is uses. French mar
riagcs, contracted without the sweet inilu-
enccs OF the gate, are, too frequently unhap-
py, but with us the thc 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 Il
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 amphthratrc to
witness Il gladatorial walking match or the
antics of the Talmage Of the period. EThc
discovery of Pompeii explains why court
ship was lost art among the Romans
There was not gate of any kind in tho
whole city wall, and we have every reason
to suppose that nothing analogous to our
front or back gates existed throughout the
wide extent Of the Roman Empire.
IL is in our Western States that the front
gate has reached its highest development of
an aid to courtship. AS is well known,
there are two schools which li,r radically
in their theory of the tru m'tllod 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 us 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 q leader of the fame and cxpc-
ricnce of Mr.. Emerson, it has by far the
greater number of adhcrcnts and to the un-
prcjudiccd mind there can be but little
doubt that its doctrine is the true one
1t is easy to comprehend how the front
gate originally came into use The original
luii vi loNCIS WIZ lllSl tltlllICu IL nuu uOllnl
less sought n place where they could enjoy
privacy, while yet afar Off, the unsympa-
thclic father and the wayfaring small boy.
The locality of the front gate, commanding
as it docs a full view of the house from
which tho father may emerge with his
hcartlcss boot, and tho public street, along
which the casual small boy may wcnd his
whistling way, would naturally he selected
even by lovers wholly without engineering
instincts. Experience soon showed that
the front gate possessed other uncqualcd
stragctic advantages. TO the eyes of the
public the lover on the outside of the gate
always seems to be in the act of going
away. When any one except the avcnging
father drew near, the lover would remark
"Wcll, as I was saying, must really go; "
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 club mt the front door seemed to
point to the propricty of an immediate and
real parting.