Saint Mary's beacon., 1880-01-08

they doe either by words or lookes as
10 them Il sremefh proper: end. more
over, no man will be entilled to the BEN
eft Of clergy who doeth IN any way
tresse her proposal with slight o. cot-
sumely." The above seems 20 estnbs
lish beyond cavil their right 10 reverse
the accepted order Of things, At least.
once in four years. Froustsme itnme-
mortal there has existed legend 90 the
effect that In leap year the cust0maRy
regulations Of feoartship may properly bs
reversed, and offers Of marriage proceed
from TIE fair sex 70 the male objects q
their affection.
We do not read that this privilege
has ever been taken advantage Of to
any great extent BY The ladies' bat the
tradition is as strong IN the minds Of the
people as ever, and il blds fair to De
transmitted in unimpaired freshness
aud force to the latest generation. This
being the case il logically follows that
there is peculiar idea Of the inherent
fitness Of the right, otherwise 10 would
have died out ages ago, IL there were
not deep down IN the human heart :
convieiionthat the ladies have some nat
ural rights in regard 10 the choOr ing and
wo0ing of partner for life. Whether
they think best TO exercise the privilege
is altogether foreign TO the question of
right. Were il not for this feeling this
leap-year tradition had long since been
forgotten. M .r.t
And in this connection it may be pro-
per to remark the more Investigate the
subject and ponder over the thousand
and one charms for which grfs may
peep into the future and solve Ito theml
the most interesting question Of their
lives, the more deeply arm Impressed
with the conviction that great injustice
II done TO woman by denying her the
privilege which trsdition gives her dus
ring leap year. For Of al women she
is most 10 be pitied who has hesita-
ting lover. who bOggles about popping
the question"
As women have not 10 any great ex-
tent availed themselves Of their pFivi.
lege in popping the question. we are
unable te say how they would do It.
II may be interesting TO the young la
dies who are not already aware of the
important fact that leap year empowers
them to do something more than ''pop
the question" Notes and Queries for
1856 contains the following: eli
Young lady should so far forget herself
as 10 suggest a union between herself
and bachelor acquaintance, who should
be UnciyIi enough 20 decline her prnpo-
sal, she could thefeupon demand from
him the gift OF a new silk dress. But
to claim this gin with propsiety she
must at the same time be the wearer Of
a scarlet pettIcoat, which, or the lower
part OF which, she must exhibit TO the
gentleman, who by the law ofleap year
Is bound 10 present TO the lady silk
dress to cover the scarlet peiticoat and
assuage her displeasure at the rejection
OF her proposal" 4el q
This item Of feminine folk lore may
prove exceedingly useful 10 the male
readers Of the Star in putting them on
their guard during the year. For II is
not probably without determined sig-
nI6canee that the wearing Of red petit
coats is made one Of the chief novelties
OF ladies' dress during the winter sea-
son. In fact 1t may reasonably be in
ferred that the ladies' law Of leap-yeaF
is about to be inflicted upon the gentle
men in its most expensive silk dress
form.
From the above il can readily be seen
that those vascillating bachelors who
have managed for years 20 steer clear OF
hymen's tolls, win be made 20 play or
paw. II is, indeed. wonderful, bow
many have so long managed TO bid de-
fance to the many charming women
who have, year after year. shone. with
dazzling briIlIancy in The magnificent
entertainments Of the gay capital; some
Of them rivaling IN beauty the famous
Agnes Sorel, whose beauty was so stri-
king that II caused Henry II, King oT
France, TO tremble when irst be be-
held her.
From a careful consideration Of the
various dangers arising from this "leap-
year privilege" am inclined 70 think
Mr.. Meagle's advice 10 the beadle ~
worthy of imitation, and that whenever
we see young lady 'iH full rig with
a scarlet pethcoat coming down the
street, We shall show our best discre-
ton by turning and running away.
"A. eavta;c daaeon formed his S,lu-