Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-10-02

Of ills that flesh is heir to, and hay
determined to frowL upon such a per-
nicious practice. Thank you for the
nickel. sir. Good-day."
MODERN OLD MAIDS.
They Are Jolly and Good-Natured, and
Dress in Exquisite Taste.
According to the idea of things which
prevailed not so very long ago,
the woman who did not marry was
q bGghted being. It did not matter
whether she remained single from
choice or necessity; for since it was
considered q woman's only manifest and
unalterable destiny to marry, she must OF
course, be regarded as q failure in life il
she did not do this. And though she
may have refused forty offers Of marriage,
or have had the most imperative duties
Of any sort, or developed the most de-
cided talent for some vocation in life 9th
er than marriage, yet neither one nor all
of these would have been accepted as q
valid reason why she should not follow
what society had decided was the only
proper course in life for her.
From this condition of things there
arose in literature and the minds of peo-
pie in general the typical ''old maid.
She was always pictured ss gaunt, angu-
lar, and forbidding in appearance;
morose and ill-tempered in disposition,
as became blighted and disappointed
being; hating youth and pleasures Of all
sorts, with a special grudge against love-
making and lovers, since they reminded
her of her own vanished youth and the
opportunities which she never had, OF
having, had neglected.
But we have changed all that in these
later days. With the education Of wo-
men and the broadening of their oppor-
tunities in every way their destinies have
broadened also. A woman is still. per-
haps, expected first to marry, and it is
best for her that she should, provided
her marriage can be happy one. But
if from her own choice, or a necessity
arising from lack of appreciation on
the part of the other and more stupid
sex, she remains at the end. of her days
what someone calls an unclaimed bless
ing" she is no longer considered, from
this circumstance alone, failure and an
unhappy creature. She is no longer
doomed to Life of dependence in the
house of another, for a score of voca-
tions are open to her, in any one of
which she may win a livelihood or even
competence. Consequently she COM
mands respect, and, far from be-
ing subject Of contempt or pity,
she is more likely the object of open
or secret envy on the part of most
of her married acquaintance.
And so it has come about that the
typical old maid of former times has
passed away, and IN the literature of to-
day we find new types conforming to the
new facts Of the case and quite different
from the old. The modern old maid is
not angular anl forbjdding in appear
ance, but plump and pleasing. She is
not morose and ill-tempered, but jolly
and good-natured to an extent that
makes her the best company. As she
has never had the absorbing cares that
come with marriage, and has no family
Of sons and daughters growing up abo1t
her to remind her of the fight of years,
she has naturally forgotten to grow old,
and young people regard her as one Of
themselves when good times are being
planned; while in the matter of lovers
and lovemaking she has had that expert
ence which makes her simply invaluable
rs confidante and adviser, and she is the
Of all the secrets Of this sort
which exist within the range Of her &C
4uaintance. She dresses in exquisite
Saste, she pets pug dog or white cat,
} golden beetle, or whatever animal
fashion may dictate; is ido]ized by her
'amily; especially her young nephews;
has hosts Of admirers, but is discretion
md propriety personifed; is the guiding
'pirit in orphan asylums, hospital fairs,
charity matters, and other
good works, and in short, lives out to the
md Of her days a happy, useful, we'll
ounded existence.