Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-04-18
MAY AND DECEMBER.
No Incempatibility Like that Between Youth
and Age.
From the New York Times

| and Age.
From the New York Times
Once upon a time, man who had
well-nigh reached the Inn it of human
| life, as given IN scripture, married
young woman. This has happened so
often that we should not say it was"onee"
upon a time if it were not that this pc
cullar case did only happen once. The
old man married the young woman but
once; and he would not have done this
a second time, even if he had a million
opportunities. He was fond and she was
fair. His was high official position,
and hers was an humble station in the
social scale. But she was comely, bright,
virtuous and well-mannered. These are
rare traits to Offset the education, fame,
and official honor which the old man
brought into the partnership. That she
had not demeaned herself by working
for her living all sensible people truly
said. And he showed good judgment in
wedding the woman of Lis choice, with
out reference to the difference in their
social status. He had brushed aside the
flimsy barriers which false condition of
society would have placed between
them. Theirs was not exactly wooing
of the king and Cophetua, for
we have neither kings nor Cophe
tuas in this happy land. But it
was, as everybody SAID, happy union Of
two loving hearts, albeit one was fresh
with life's young spring, and the other
was closing under the chilly influences
of the autumn of the year. Nevertheless,
it was pretty sight and women looked
on with tender and fearful interest as
the aged bridegroom vowed to love and
cherish, while she, blushing celestial
rOsy-red, vowed to love, honor and obey.
Many high-bred damsel who looked
valnly from her easement for him who
came rot envied the modest maiden who
gave her hand to the great man, and thus
took the right to call him by one of the
dearest names on earth. There was a
gush of sentiment when the happy pair
drove away in their coach and-four; and
society, for days afterwards, was agitated
with discussions of the delightful affair.
It was so romaRtic, so out of the common
course of thin IS, and altogether, very
nice. Winged thoughts pursued them
mime imagination pictured them in their
bower of welded bliss-ln a frst-class
hotel-she all clinging tenderness and
reverent affection, and he all chivaIrie
devotion. Other old men looked on and
said, under their breath, "Lucky dog"
And many maid, left like an ungather-
ed rose, wrung her hands, and, with
Desdemona, wished that Heaven had
made her such man. So all went mer-
ry as marriage bell, for only marriage
bells are merry.
In time, when people had well-nigh
forgotten this wonderful social event,
there came forth dark rumors of disagree
ment and jangling in the home of May
and December. He loved the domestic
fireside, as old men do. He dozed over
his newspaper, or slumbered noisily with
his handkerchief over his head, while she
fretted and pouted, unadmired and neg
lected. Would she 60 out into the
bright sunshine and open the petals of
sweet young life in the sun-1ays? He
would rather stay indoors and mouse
among musty, dusty law books and po-
litical correspondence. Then he grew
jealous, for he rightly thought that a
young woman, though wife, might read
lily be attracted by young mans win
some face, when the old mans face was
often clouded. 1t was not IN human
nature for bright and charming young
woman to extinguish her light and sit
down IN the twilight of the aged. So
they quarrelled-violently, even, and
some gossips went so far as to say
that he lost his temper and pinched
her black and blue. For the honor
of the much abused male sex let us be-
lieve that this Is not true. But they did
actually separate. After months of IN
happiness and pickering she fulfilled that
awful threat that many another married
woman has fulfilled, and went home to
her mother. Then the gossips wagged
their head, and said, II told you so.'
| She said that she had borne his harshness,
tyranny and unreasonable jealousy long
enough. He said that she was a g1ddy,
frivolous thing, running after wild Young
blades, and no fit mate for a sober and
dignitied middle-aged gentleman. Curl
ously enough, none OF these reflections
seems to have dropped into the minds of
either before marriage. They both had
thought they would be the first old hus-
band and young wife who should 1--we
happily together. They had left nature
out of their calculations.
This is an old story, as old as
the time of Solomon. Men have fooled
themselves in this sad fashion ever since
the world began. And the unsympa-