, 1890-09-04

Stiffness In their women as they
never were before, and proud, too,
which Is q further step, of their in
telligence. Progress In such mat
ters 10 result of many causes which
do not always cooperate, and we
may not expect that In the year
5000 A. ID. ali marriages, or one
half of them, will he Ineligible;
but for all that, no one who looks at
society without prejudice will be-
lleve that the fools are win ming the
social game.
Jenny June's Happiest Hour.
Ladies' Home Journal.
Can any one decide on the chap
piest" hour, or hours, of their life?
Is there a possibility of happlest
hour? Looking backward, do we
not find unalloyed happiness limited
to moments, and usually springing
from negative causes-the absence
of grief, the lifting of burden,
the relief from pressure of "a great
anxiety-rather than the positive
possession of joy? The saddest
moments of life are the waking up
to a great sorrow; the happiest, the
sudden and unexpected realization
of u hope. But the perfection OF
this happiness does not last an hour.
The "other side," the compensating
cares and responsibilities, make
themselves felt, and modify pleas
ure.
Thus there can be no such thing
as "happiest" hours. But there are
happy hours, and these usually
arise from simple causes. Some of
my happy ones have come when 1
could find gentle hand TO brush
my hair after long day Of hard
work. Others at the close of winter,
and beginning of spring, after n
siege of storms, when the weather
became fair enough to walk home
from the cramped. confined little
Office, and the sunset, watched from
the brow of the hill at Thirty-fourth
street, gave promise Of another fair
day. Then there was the gathering
of the children in the recessed win
dow to hear stories in the hour be-
fore gas was lighted, and the early
Christmas mornings hours very
tired aud sleepy hours, but very
happy ones-because Santa Claus
had known and delivered what each
one wanted.
Life indeed has many happy
hours in the society of friends, In
the companionship of books, in the
performance of daily tasks which
lead to good results. But, chap
piestn experiences are those In
which self is lost, and there is entire
absorption in an exalted idea, In the
fulfilIment of a hope, In the realiza-
ton of u duty well performed.
One of the happiest moments Of
my life caIne to me on ascending the
steps of my home on the day on
which had paid mortgage on 1t
of $4,000. 1t had taken ten years
to do it, and during that time / had
not spent dollar unnecessarily.
had paid 1t i'm an hours interval
from office work, aud was too busy
to think about IL till / neared home
late In the afternoon. Then looked
at the very modest brownstone
front, with quite different eyes. 1t
became suddenly interesting to
me. l felt for the first time a
sense of ownership. The granite
steps, the door, were mine. | had
earned them. a feeling of intensest,
indescribable thankfulness came
over me that the roof which shell
tered my children was theirs, and
mine, and that no one could dis
possess US. went up stairs silently
aud fell on my knees In volceless
thanksgiving, but did not tell any
one for three days that the burden
was lifted; could not; there was no
one TO realize what the fact was to
me.
Twice in my life I have expert
enced moments of supreme exalta-
ton, when all material things
seemed at q distance from me; and
! was only alive to the perception
and influence Of the profound emo
ton excited by the circumstances
and environment. One of these oc-
casions was on first arriving at
Straton-on-Avon; the second while
hearing "Parsifai," at Bayreuth.
Since then / have had q dim idea OF
the happiness we shall know when
we can see, feel, and understand.
Mexican Heiresses.
It is considered disgrace for q
Mexican lady TO earn her own liv-
ing. The men do the cooking and
male servants do the housework.
II a young Indy should learn stem.
ography aud typewriting or should
try In any manner to earn her own
living she would be ostracised from
society. There are many heiresses
there and there are many Mexican
adventures who make their living
marrying them. They are hand.
some, indolent spendthrifts, and
the ladies fall in love with them.
A Mexican woman's beauty fades
early, and when n wealthy heiress
marrles one of these men she never
lives long. When she dies her hus-
band invariably marries another
wealthy GIRL Ono man in the City
of Mexico married three hclresses In
quick Succession. He became one
OF the richest men In that section of
the country, but what spendthrlft
he WAS. Once he visited the United
States and ut every city he stopped,