The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-05-19
MATRIMONIAL PROBLEM.
It Is One That Is 6orely Perplex-
in0 Match Makiu9M1u

It Is One That Is sorely Perplex-
Ing Match MakingM M1ummaA
Modern Ccmradeship Dstwssa Young Men
and Women serves to Bid Life of
Much Of Its Romance - Crow
Ing Independeooe Of Girls.
How do men propose? Do men make
up their minds to marry or do they
drift into marriage, so to speak? Does
propinquity or opportunity bring about
greater number of proposals than
does actual intention, asks the New
York Advertiser. This is the problem.
thai greatly perplexes mothers with
manageable daughters, and they are
ut loss to understand why it is that
their daughters admirers do not de-
velop into suitors. The girls are
pretty, ,well-dressed and of ages ranging
from eighteen to twenty-eiRht, and
they experience no lack Of attention
from the men Of their different sets
men who ride, dance and play tennis
with them and with whom they are on
the best of terms. .
Mothers looking backward to their
own girlhood are dismaycd at the diff
ference between the past and the pres
ent, and each matron remembers that
she was wooed and won within, saw, a
few weeks of a first meeting, whereas
her daughters are still unsought after
months of constant companionship. Is
it that in former days men were i'm
pulsive as well as ,impressionable, and
that in these days they are impression
able but not impulsive? Or is it that
the comradeship that is now estab-
Hshed between young men and girls
robs the situation of every shade of ro-
nance, while this footing of frank
friendship induces girls to assume q
sort of brusque, self-reliant, indepen-
dent bearing, the reverse of senti-
mental and confiding? This may ac-
count in some measure for the position
that girls occupy toward men, but
hardly sufficiently SO to be the only
cause for the gravity of the situation.
Anyhow, it is humiliating to their pow
ers of attraction to find that, after
months of pleasant social intimacies,
the most valued acguaintances cool off.
From statistics CLEANED from conf
dences and careful observations, it may
be laid down that very young men are
less prone to propose from deliberation
than are older men, youth and fancy
going hand-in-hand as against expert
ence and hesitation. On the one hand
they fall in love, as the old-fashioned
phrase goes, and propose. On the
other hand, they rather drift from lik-
ing into affection, but are not always
ready to propose until some pressure is
brought to bear from without. This is,
perhaps, one of the most delicate opeY-
ations in social anatomy. Sometimes
the father operates upon the heart and
feeling of the laggard in love. This is
rather an awkward moment for both,
but it generally results in a satisfac-
tory arrangement of the matter and
the proposal is duly made. Many men
require this ,paternal touch before TAX
ing the final leap. A mothers inter-
she seldom ventures upon such an ex-
treme course. asgsi f
A warm-hearted mutual friend is,
perhaps, one Of the best auxiliaries q
girl can have. She can say so much
for her and can say it SO we'll, and she
can hint at preference, which is fiat
tering to most men if not to all. BY
the same token a mutual friend can do ,
untold mischief and convert q dawn
ing admiration into q studied avoid
ance. In her e0gerness to throw q
couple. together she rouses in one Of
them a fear of being made ridiculous,
most antagonistic to sentiment akin
to a proposal. It is not too much to
say that officious kindness on the part
of a tactless woman mars many a bud
ding inclination, which, but for her in
reference. might have resulted alto
getkcr differently.
Men ver~ing toward forty, or even
little beyond it, often make premed-,
itated proposals, actuated by various
reasons, considering that if they do
not marry at forty they are not likely
to marry at all. They wish to settle
down and enjoy their possessions.
They are matrimonial prizes and much
coveted by mothers for their daugh-
ters. Men who have. arrived at this
age must have done one Of two things
either lived a society life and num-
bered all the young beauties among
their acquaintance, or have come
fresh from exile on mine CIR ranch,
ready to propose to the first pleasing,
girl they happen to come across. They
fall in love at FIRST sight and the pro-
posal is made within week or SO. a7s.{
Many proposals are the result of cir.
and are surprising alike to
both. sides. They were not, nor are.
each Others ideals, but they drifted to-.
yether nevertheless; these proposals
cannot be called premeditatcd; they
come about from the force Of events.i
which often brings together the most
people. SIS
Remarkable Electrical Display. .t
At reception in big mansion in
Brooklyn one evening recently blind
49, N~cl hof po4svAa orA thu