Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-03
MARRYING FOR MONEY.
1t 10 q Plan That Does Not Pay, So Those
With Experience Say.

1t 10 Plan That Does Not Pay, So Those
With Experience Say.
THREE MEN WHO DID 1T AND THE TROUBLE
THEY GOT INTo-oSE MARRIED THE DAUGHTER
OF a RICH MAN WHO HAD NOTHING OF HER
| owN-ANorHER TOOK wIDow-rHE THIRD
FOUND 4 MoTHER-IS-IAw WHO WAS TER
ROB.
Marrying for money doesn't pay" said an
old bachelor at the Platypus Club. 81 have in
my mind at this moment three men VINO did it.
The result in each instance was anything but
happy. To begin with, there was a young
friend Of mine whom / will call Jones. That WAS
not his name, but it will do as we'll The facts
are true enough. His prospects weren't par
ticulsrly good, and he thought to better them
by taking rich girl into matrimonial partner
ship.
"Now, such things work very differently here
from the fashion abroad. Over there, when a
person with lots Of stamps disposes of HE
daughter in marriage, ne expects as a matter Of
course to give her something handsome in the
shape OF q dot But in this country your mil
lionaire recognizes no such obnsativI. Par
! ticularly If he has made his own fortune. he
to be in fair way Of accumulating means for
himself Unfortunately, it takes a good many
years nowadays for young man to get fairly
| started in the world. At the same time. this
fact does not prevent him from wanting to get
married, and he has Q right to be hopeful
| But your plutocrat Is one of the biggest
cobblestones on the road Of true love, which
never does run emooth He is not in the least
| disposed to discount the future Of q young
mans ambition. What he wants in the way Of
| h,oh avl Co. htol r,vl,% io ha has
already established himself. So the average
| otherwise eligible sutton who appears on the
| threshold of his dwelling is likely to be looked
upon with scorn. He roughly cassifies the
aspiring youths of his daughters acquaintance
| as dudes and fools If one Of them appeals
for his consent, he looks him over from top to
toe and says: We'll. is your income sufficient to
| support Alice if You marry her-l mean in the
condition of life to which she has been accus-
| tomed?
snow, there Is many an old maid who has to
| thank her father on just such an account for
| her condition of single blessedness. Husbands
are scarce birds in these days, and it does not
do to shoe them away too rudely. Papa
| Midas does not usually take into con-
| sideration the fact that marriage is partner
ship, and that 1t would be only fair for him to
put up a certain amount Of money for his
| daughters share in the matrimonial enterprise.
In Europe, as have said, that is regarded as
| a matter Of course, but here il is looked upon
|
| fairly quit of all obligation to his girl and to
her subsequent family when he has provided
her with a trousseau and paid for her wedding.
1t was just such curmudgeon whose daughter
was married by Jones, of whom l was speak
| ing.
81 remember very we'll how everybody said
| that Jones such lucky fellow. He was
marrying q rich girl 1t was not inquired
whether or no she had anything in her own
right. Probably he had not any very definite
Al -.Al
in love with the girl, but, judging from the
lavish expenditure into which he launched at
the time Of the wedding, am convinced that
he cherished the delusion that wealth would
smooth his path in lite from that time forward.
The presents of course, were numerous and
Enthusiastically the jewels donated to the
bride. The happy pair were united under
floral horseshoe, and there quite ex-
tended account of the event in the newspapers.
II am not fully acquainted with the details,
| but know that the newly welded couple re-
turned from fortnight's honeymoon trip to
pretty tat in town. About three months later
Jones was in difficulties. Certain small savings
of his own were wholly exhausted and the rent
OF his apartment was not paid for the current
month. Then came an advertisement 1t
came out that he had been living entirely be-
| yond his means. His salary was 81 500 year,
| with no particular prospects OF advancement,
| while his expenses were at the rate OF at least
5000 per annum. This did not in
|
wife had already run up at the milhner's and
dressmakers. She had been accustomed TO
| almost unlimited Injuries all Of her life and
she had no notion Of economy. 1t was q rather
desperate plight. There was only one thing to
| do, and Jones did II. He went to his father-in-
law and made a clean breast of it Did the old
man offer to help him out OF the scrape? Not
muoh. That was not his style.
"What he said was this: Why did you marry
| my daughter if you had not sufficient means to
L H. -
a reply. As a matter Of fact, he had had some
notion to the effect that Midas would provide
for the girl in some way that would
render everything extremely comfortable.
He might have replied that her father,
having brought her up with all sorts of eX-
pensive tastes, ought to be willing to pay for
| them But such an argument would have been
| wholly unavailiug. After INDUCING his spleen
by uttering all the humiisting remarks which
he could think Of OF hsnd, the millionaire con-
| sented to make allowance for his daughter,
which must be entirely separate and for her
| own exclusive use. Since then Jones has been
! scratching along in q very poor sort of fashion,
always in debt, because his wife has
no notion of controlling her fancies.
| She must have fine clothes, because papa
always supplied her with plenty of them-even
| though her children usually go shabby.
The moral of the story is: Find out, when
you marry a rich girl, whether she is actually
| going to bring You any money or not. IL Yes,
| II may not Always De 10 your oQNantaRe. Nnen
| a wife has cash of her own she is very apt to
| feel SO independent to become saucy and
unbearable. At all events, 1 have heard of
| more than one such Instance. Half q dozen
years ago l was acquainted with a very
pleasant young fellow whom l will call Robin
| son. He was earning SIS week in a brokers'
Office. On number of occasions he confded
to me his feelings Of disgust with life. There
| was no hope for him. he said, except to marry
a rich girl. He decidedly good-looking,
and was not ct all surprised when his engage
ment to q wealthy widow was announced. After
they we're married called on them and found
the bride very agreeable, though . trihe gush-
ing and unmistakably twelve or fifteen years
| older than her husband.
Robinson gave up his place in the brokerS
| Office. His circumstances seemed vastly i'm
proved, and yet he did not seem cheerful.
While in former times very hght-hearted not
outstanding his occasional fits Of grumps over
his prospects, he appeared after his marriage
always gloomy and out Of sorts One reason
| for this may have been want Of occupation.
But, after having taken q little too much
wine at the club one evening" condition in
| which had never seen him before-he con-
fessed to me that he was hopeless slave. The