The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-05-01
MISS MARRABLE,s ELopEMENT.

Miss Martha Marrable, a spinster lady of
five-and-ifty, is the last of her race. Her
only brother, Mr.. Clement Marrable, never
married, and died twenty years ago at
Baden-Baden, whittier he had gone to drink
the waters; and her two sisters, Maria and
Laetitia, although they did marry, did not
live to become middle-aged women. The
elder, Maria, after becoming the wife of
Mr.. Langton Larkspur, of the firm of
Scrip, Larkspur & Co., bankers, of Thread
a daughter, who was named Lucy; and
the younger, Lsetitia, having been led to
the altar by Mr.. Septimus Allerton, of tine
firm of Allerton, 20 & Benedict, brokers,
of Pancake Lane, presented her husband
with twin girls, of whom only one-and
she was called Amy-survived her ex-
treme infancy. It is therefore not aston
ishing that Miss Martha Marrable, a we'll
TODD woman without family ties, is ex-
cecdingly fond of the daughters of her two
dead sisters. She usually had them to stay
with her at least twice a year-once in the
early summer at her house in Grosvenor
Street, and once in the autumn at the sea-
side, or in Italy, whittier she goes occasion
ally, accompanied-to the great n of
the foreigners-by a courier, a man-serv-
ant, two maids, eleven boxes and a green
parrot. And as she is very kind to her
nieces, and denies them nothing, it is not
surprising that they are fully as fond of
her as she is of them. But Miss
NldTIud mdIIdplS Is RFOWl1S OlQs
Miss Amy Allerton are both young, and
intend to remain so for some years to come.
1t is not, therefore, to be expected that the
three ladies should invariably think ex-
actly alike on all subjects. And, indeed, I
am happy to say that there are not many
women who do agree with Miss Marrable,
upon all questions; for although she is as
good.hearted an old spinster as ever
breathed, she is, unfortunately, a man.
hater.
I have looked into the dictionary to see
what the verb ''to hate" signifies, and l
lind that it means 'sto despise," or ''to dis
like intensely" Let it not, however, be
supposed that the word "man-hater" is a
stronger one that ought to be applied to
Miss Marrable, for l am really not certain
that it is altogether strong enough. She
regards men as inferior animals, and looks
Town upon them with lofty contempt.
"Who," she once said to her niece Lucy,
sthas turned the world upside down, filled
it with poverty and unhappiness, and del
uged it with blood? 1t is Man, Lucy. II
woman had always governed the earth we
should have had no Caesar Borgias, no
Judge Jefferieses, no Bonapartes and no
Mana Sahibs." And yet Miss Martha Mar
the street without giving him aims. The
truth is, that, although she detests and
:despises man, she pities him; just as she
lpities the poor idiot whom she sometimes
sees grinning and gibbering by the wayside
in Italy.
These being her sentiments, Miss Maria
BILE has not, of course, many male %acQuaint
ances. She is on good, but not affecNonate
terms with her widowed brothers-in-law
Mr.. Langton Larkspur and Mr.. Septimus
'Allerton. She once a year invites her mar
of business, Mr.. John Bones, of Cooks
Court, to dine with her and them in Gros
,venor Street; and she is civil to the rector
of her parish, and to the medical mar
whom she would call in to attend her il
case of illness. Yet Mr.. Larkspur one
told MIR. A1lerton that this feminine dragon
had had a violent love affair when she wa:
nineteen; and Mr.. A~llerton-whose con
.nection with the Marrable family is O
much more recent date b that of Lucy.
Enthusiastically declared that he coult
well believe it. If, however, Miss Marrablt
did have a love affair in her youth, 1 an
not inclined at this time of day to cast it a.
a reproach in her teeth. Boys will be boys
and girls, l suppose, will be girls, though
they may hv to see the error of theil
ways, and be none the worse for thei
follies. One thing is certain, and that i
ive-and-twenty years past, Miss Marth,
tMarrable has ceased todream of the tendel
passion. She still occasionally talk!
vaguely of going up the Nile, or of visiting
the Yellowstone Region ere she dies; bu
she never c~ontemplates the possibility O
getting married; and l believe that sh,
would as soon think of allowing a man t,
believe that she regarded him with any
thing but polite aversion, as she woulc
think of going into business as a steeple
jack, and learning to stand on one leg OIL
the top of the cross at the summit of st
Paul's Cathedral.
And yet Miss Martha Marrable was las
year the heroine of a terrible scandal
and many of her misanthropic femal
friends have never since been abb,
to completely believe her professions O
hatred of man. The affair gave rise to man,
whispers, and was even, L understand
guardedly alluded to, with just and virtu
GUS depreciation, in the columns of ths
Wondn's Suffrage Journal, as a terribl,
but happily rare instance of womanlJ
weakness and frivolity; and since the tru'
story has never been told / feel that it il
only fair to tell it, and by telling it, t.
defend Miss Marrable from the dastardly
charges that have been. made against he