Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-03-03

WITHOUT bulllIB 1UuI uduuh, Ut uIaWlDg
the ehutter5 to without leaning dangerous
ly far out of toe window to uncatch them.
'Our main diversion, when was single
10 or 90 years ago, was in the giving o.
parties. Time has not altered the way this
was done One young lady after another
invited all the rest Of ia TO her house. OF
else, if it was to be a surprise for one Of tn,
girls, we invited ourselves. What part this
master OF mistress o. such a house bad il
the matter be7Cnd that Of providing tbs
refreshments DO rot know, but it could
not have been CT consequence, for the girls
usually determined among themselves
when and where the next gathering should
be, AND l seldom knew their plans to bt
altered.
"As rule We had the psrlor floor TO our
selves. and managed cur amusemelts tC
salt ourselves. There assemblies were in
the main proper. Where there we're 81
many of us together we behaved very vel
in the parloTs, 30 far as l can remember
Yet the principle was and is wrong Tn
assumption on the part Of schooltoys and
girls, or even Of youths nearer their msjor
tiles, that they are to manage their OWL
amusements; are 10 pre-empt part OF the
houses of their parents when they choose
are to miugle together, score or two at 8
time, with nc more supervision OF the selec
ton Of companions than juveniles Ore
able or are likely to exercise,
is altogether improper, and that a
mother should permit her young
daughter to be visited by miscellsntoua
gathering of youths whose characters she
knows little OF perhaps absolutely nothing
sbout seems absolutely scandalOus when
one knows of better methods with the
young. AS for the Journeys homeward
from the parties, unchspeToned, at night,
in carriages or cabs, or otherwise, well, II
is hard to discuss that custom, and we
won't.
'Now, suppose that one o. my front
room heroines was blessed with sister. l
have.cAlled at houses where there were
sisters nearly of an age, in city and IN
country, time and again, and no tIifie like
a sister is allowed to interfere with the
sacred secrecy of the American font room.
Olce. when l called on Miss Vira Dash,
she greeted ME thus: ooh, I'm so sorry
Won did not come half an hour sooner;
S.ella's got the parior
Got the paJlOr?' l repeated What
do you mean?"
"Why, her particular friend, goa know,
Mr.. LlfeTm, came few minutes ago. On,
YOU don't understand. Well, then, lts
nv fault. ought to have told you that
s ella and have an arrangement whereby
whoever gets the first call is to have the
parlor, and Harry L9ferm and she are
ahead of US neatly half an hour"
"Well isn't there room in there for us .
I asked. innocently. This question startled
her. but not her sense OF propriety.
''l don't think so, if you do" she re-
pled: and don't imagine Harry thinks
81, either. l have to take my chances
when Stella gets ahead Of me. H0weyer'
pas out of town, and We cln 60 in his
study, if you don't mind; it's better than
the sitting-ToOm."
81 used TO know the pretty daughter OF
a retired sea captain, and che aud a young
lady who was stopping with her used ID
entertain me and friend OF nine we
always followed the same programme
When my friend and l called we and the
Young ladies formed quartet 10 the ifoNI
room. A veritable museum of SoEtn Sea ana
Atlantic curios collected ny the captain.
There we sat and talked, or heard the
vounq ladies' sing. Presently the girl my
friend had chosen went into the back room,
the doors being wide open, and upon one
excuse or another, or no excuse at all,
o1lleI him in there, leaving Miss May and
me together in the front paIlcr. An at
tempt 70 render this less noticeable was
made By occasional questions or re
marks pissed from one girl to the
oil her. Then. in half al hour, one OF the
Young women arose, ana with her face as
innerturbable as an actress could have
worn. closed the doors and shut the couples
apart. After that, if either of the young
women had occasion, as was frequently
the case. 70 % into the room occupied b.
her companion and the other young man,
she never failed TO knock, and then wait a
moment before che slid tde doors apart
You mey we'll ask why was this caution
necesurv? What is the nature OF the
affairs of youug women aud their callers
that cause5 a demand for such privacy? l
DO not exaggerate when l say that l have
had very similar experiences IN a great
nnmber of houses, and have in mind
score of anecdotes by my friends including
the same circumstances and relatins 10
every section Of the land.
"ff there is an explanation for this iea'
ture of life in this vast array OF mlsman-
aged bouseholds-it is that the usages OF
the young people are not such as court o3'
servstion In most cases, that which
sbrinks from scrutiny or takes advantage
of ifs absence is merely the being seated
cIose together OF with an arm OF one ABOUT
the waist of another, an indulgence IN &C.
casionsl caresses or the enjoyment OF a
Ianouid communion of tender feelings IN
dreamy silence and with head on low
er,s shoulder and hands that are not
mates loosely clssped.
'sThen it is-when the stage OF dreamy
silence is at hsnd-that the more Thought
less maidens in the country arise and turn
down the light-theme of so many min
strel tests and comic paragraphs. ms per
Torrance by no means warrants hasty con-
illusions On the critics part. The singular
custom Of darkening the room is fashion,
and where it obtains the young men de-
mand the observance of it as right and
a mark of respect, if not OF affection. In
the larger cities one seldom hears OF the
nrsctice. but what follows there is much
the same as that which comes after the
rooms are darkened in the rural Districts
the larguid, drowsy surrender to happi-
ness. IT,. ~ of
doors continued the American after some
casnal comment on the part OF the Eng
I;sbman. "If you have walked through
anv of the public parks after dark when