Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-14
The Girl Who Wants a Husband and
Sits, Down to Wait for Him
Is FoMlSH IN THIS DAY AND AGE.
Calculatihx Mothers Do the Hastling in
gland but Not Here.
.nER,cE WOMEN ARE INDEPENDENT
EwRrrrEN FOR THE DISPATCH

girls and swell.to.do men together are con-
stantly in order, because these mothers have
an abiding faith IL the truth of the old saw
that proximity is the soul Of love-"
The old theory that marriages are made in
heaven, aud tdat neither men nor women
can escape their destiny, avails but little
in practice, as judged by the match-makers
who are portrayed in the books. Hence the
daughter shows" or debutante's balls, or
society auctions" for the promotion
of marriage. Amateur theatricals are
brought into play, tennis parties
serve good purpose, little dances to which
only eligible men are invited are among the
most prominent maneuvers, but the clever
chaperone has ner head iull of cunning de-
vices to further her plan Of making match
between a young woman who must be dis
posed of and man Of means and position.
But, as appears, this sort of manageable
men is growing scarce and shy. They have
to be drummed up and hunted out. Poor
men are not wanted and rich ones have no
great desire to marry. But since marriage
is the proper thing, it is evident to the
match-makers that men should not shirk
their solemn duty, but be made by hook or
crook to take their share in the responsible
ties of matrimony.
HOW A WOMAN CHANGES.
These daughters in English society are
represented as modest, sensitive, shrinking
little souls, who always do what mamma"
thinks best, but what seems strange to the
reader is that these wIld-violet and lily-of-
the-valley girls are of the same variety that
in course of time develops, as did their
mothers before them, into these cunning
chaperones and son-in-law hunting mothers.
Eligible men seem to be very scarce In En-
glish society, or else they are getting too
smart to be caught in the snares set for
them in the way of mpting entertainments
and fattering attentions. The talk about
marriage irightens them. They shrink
from exchanging their freedom for the
monotonous round of matrimony. They are
afraid OF the blanks in the lottery. They
are most especially shy, j: would appear.
when the prospective mother-in-law is too
prominent
To excuse themselves they dilate upon the
extravaganza OF women. They insist that
every girl wants to live sin STYLE" at least
nothing less than that to which she has been
accustomed. They urge that it is not their
business to marry until their "fate" impos-
sible to resist appears. But the British
matron thinks that good husbands are ne
cessity for nice English girls, and those who
know the indomitable courage, the untiring
persistence. the eternal vigilance of the
managing mother, as she appears in En-
glish society, knows that she will have her
way in the end. The old epitaph still
stands without an answer.
Where is the mar who has the power and skill
To stem the torrent of a woman's will +?
And if she won't, she WON'T, and there's an end
ont.
sKILLFUL- IN THE CHASE.
The great art of matchmaking in Eng
land has grown so difficult, says an English
writer, that it has developed vastly increased
skill in the chase for husbands. In days
gone by the man secured mis- bride by cap
ture or purchase. The marriage ceremony
of primitive days, 4s pictured, is would-be
husband aided by what the schoolboy calls
"a gang of toughs" tearing a young girl
away from her friends by main force, re-
gardless of what she thought OF it.
In these highways OF advanced civiliza-
ton, if we are to accept English novels as
pictures from life. it is the poor man who is
dragged into matrimony. Not savagely and
rudely, as was the fate o. the young girl in
the days Of barbarism, but by sheer force of.
finesse by the matchmaker who makes him
believe he is about to become the happ1est
In resplendent attire and marries the girl
expressly cut out for him by heaven. OF
course, the novels usually end at this point.
The illusion is kept up to the last that mar
riages in England are made for love, but
the chaperone in the background who frowns
upon younger sons, and promptly cuts all
the Romeo aud Jatliet scenes off short-unless
Romeo has a suitable income, thinks more
of the establishment than she does of love,
and takes the measure of q mans attentions
with the closest calculation.
SOMETIMES THEY FALL IN LOVE.
English girls, closely guarded as they
are, however, do occasionally fall in love
with poverty-stricken younger sons and in-
eligible, men, much to the amazement and
distress of their friends. To find the free
dom for which they yearn, they even elope
with them, and usually come to grief. "The
average of old fools and young fools is
steadily kent up we are told, notwith-
standing the diffusion of useful knowledge.
After the honeymoon is over and the supply
of cash runs short, and the bride finds out
the difference between living in obscurity
and shabbiness, struggling with the finan-
clal problems of an inadequate income and
the comforts of her old home, she then
realizes her folly to the fullest. In the books
it is customary tor a rich old uncle or aunt
or somebody to die and relieve them from
the stern necessities of poverty by a will
giving them fortune, but in real life they
most often have to reconcile themselves 10
the dismalities of their position and paw the
price OF their blind folly.
Maneuvering mothers who expend their
capacity OF brain and genius in planning
to secure husbands for their daughters are
not numerous in this country, though they