Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-03

n-NAA M good luck that threw
1L "a the writer for The
~ Star with two fna
specimens of the genus swell the other day
and gave him 4 c.l1ilce 70 learn their views
On very important mater in lie.
These two men are hardly young, and yet
are certainly not Old. One of them Is bald;
tie o:he: Is partly gray They are old
enough TO be highly respectable reAd5 Of
families. but they are still bachelors. They
cence. although they are no longer cnthusi-
ass on the subject, they &c to dinner
a,t.es whenever they are asked; 70 teas
Whenever they tarn1t avoid it, 10 thelter
parties whenever they cannot get a diane.
party instead. They appear at balls i. trey
choose to DO SO. They are dressed perfa city,
hlt have passed the age when their clothes
re the chief subjects o. their thoughts.
Tney stood On the corner OF the stree,
near one Of the uptown clubs. lazily hest
-atlng btfore thay saoIid take a stroll Cd
Connecticut avenue, ana as they stood 4, ere
= brilliant carriage Dashed by. rs horses
tossed t.Ieir feet in the air. ind their Iatty
ilt'!e tails. not more than six inches long
sta i ,ariy straight. Some horses It mast
be remarked III passing. have tails to brash
oh h.es wlth, but rich people of rrsnol
provide their horses with groo.ns FOR tat
purpose. Inc tails are cut Or a. ten L -
iess. NOW. in this carriage WIS 5, tel a
iine-i2okins girl. and as she pa.5ad she
bo#cd and smiled.
"Oh. but she's beautyr' said one Of the
ine'i His companion tool. .ae ma tier rath-
er laasuidly.
"le-es." he said, slowly. 81 suppose she
is. no was il. cid MANI
ny, don yod Slow her.: asked the
o;h2c- rs Aiiss dc Bank, AID il IS MY
deliberate Judgment that she is the most
oe2ut'i" woman in this town. Say don't
you tan. 20. yoursalf?"
''Sia seems 70 be pretty" was the Uaen-
thu: -dstic reply.
Il should say she is pretty That's too
mi. ', and III tell you something more she
b.
II. languid mans manner changed at
Cnce. Take me around to call On her on
her next reception day." ne SAID
Nhnt Hc Wanted to Know.
it was very evident that this fine man of
tie world cared grea. deal about a pretty
face just as soon as he knew that a pretty
ro.,....e went along with it. IA then set to
work, and made systematic inquiries about
her. First of all, he wanted to know if her
parents were living. When he was told
t-iat The father WIS Dead bat that a moth
er, who was quite OLD and feeble, survived,
he made the sage observation that it was
better so. A father, explained is al
ways prone 10 suspect mercenary motives
on the part of the men who come to court
his daughter.
Indeed. he is sometimes so very suspicious
on this point that he is open to the impu-
tation of having possibly had some en-
perience himself when he courted his
daughters mother. A mother, on the other
hand, may sometimes be induced to believe
In sincerity of prospective son-in- law.
Moreover, some mothers do not care IL
man is mercenary. II they are determined
to have genuine, unmistakable swell for
their daughter. they know that very few
OF them are to be got for nothing. But the
man who is being quoted went on to say
that there was decided objection to mar
rying an heiress whose mother would insist
upon living with her daughter after mar
riage, proceeding that can only be toler-
ated when she is the base of supplies. in
which event, of course. the wisest policy is
to keep near her. If she is old and feeble
too. she has right to keep her daughter
with her. but this is a condition of AFFAIRS
that can be endured, seeing that, in the
ordinary course of nature, 1t cannot last
very long He finally declared that any
parent was an objection, but he thought
one could be managed by a man with tact.
He could not help expatiating upon the beau
ties of an orphan heiress. To ask the con-
sent OF guardian to marrying his ward
was such an easy matter of form, and
afterward the problem of matrimony was
stripped of many Of it's difficulties.
The Disadvantage of BROTHERS.
He wanted to know next whether the girl
had brothers and sisters. and when he was
told that she had two brothers older than
herself he took the matter seriously He
said this was very undesirable. An only
sister, and especially one without a father
was apt to pin her affections to her older
brothers. She would probably ask their ad-
vice. defer to them and even obey them, and
they would feel disposed to exercise their
authority even more positively than a IA
Their would. OF course, after marriage the
brothers would not count They might like
or dislike their sisters husband it would
make little difference. Their influence was
great before marriage, but unimportant
afterward AS for younger brothers, they
made no difference at any time. They were
not consulted and If they offered advice II
was not likely to be regarded unless 1t was
such as the sister desired. Sisters and
younger brothers very often fight, anyhow
On the whole, as nearly all women. whether
they are poor or rich, have some relatives,
this calculating fortune seeker determined
that he would go to see this particular mil
lionaire and look the field over.
The Fortune Hunter.
Now, it would be amusing to follow I'D
the affair further, but the chances are ten
to one that he will never propose to the
girl at all. for men of this type are much
more apt to talk about their mercenary in
tentions than they are to put them into eff
feet. 1t is sort Of irony of fate that makes
them not infrequently end by uniting them
selves to some girl who has not a penny in
the world.
An old gentleman who has lived every
where and knows all about 1t was asked for
his views on this subject. MY dear fellow"
he said, your genuine fortune winner
hardly exists In this country. ] know there
are few Of them-fellows who started out
In life with the full determination of mar
rying fortune and who have done it. but
as a general thing they take fright and run
away or the girl sees what they are after
and ends by marrying a rich man herself or
not marrying at ALL"
The Real Article I'm Europe.
There Is a great deal of truth In this.
Stop a moment and think OF the number
of rich old maids there in the world,
ana old maids, too who have some at
fractions. or had. at any rate. And keep an
account of the marriages each year and you
will be surprised TO see how many poor
girls get married soon after they come out
into society and how many rich girls have
to wait. The real home of mercenary mar
riage Is Europe. In France 1t Is customary
to regularly discuss the settlement that The
girl or her family will make purely as a
matter Of business, and, II a good settle