The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-12
MOONLIGHT AND LOVERS.

mOoNAA1111 AMI LIZ ECS.
The world has fallen into a singularly
funny fashion Of pointing out its own
fallacies and with a good natured des-
peration declaring that there is no
remedy for them. 1t is the fad to kick
and offer no way out.
The latest thing in this line is Ella
Wheeler WilcoX's attack on the moon.
She says:
There is peculiar intoxicating influence
in the moonlight which often causes a mild
phase of ''lunacy" in an emotional tenn
peratment. Just as the objects Of nature
are idealzed by the moonlight, and dust
and CRIME and blight are enveloped in a
silver sheen. so the emotions and motives
are for the time being given a spirituality
and a sacredness which vanish with the
return of daylight. 1t has seemed nat
ural expression of the tenderness in her
heart to the happy girl when her COM
panion's arm steals about her waist. His
eyes are eloquent in the moonlight. They
are quite alone in the beautiful perfumed
drive; the horse. accustomed to such oc-
casions, joys along at leisurely gait; and
only the smiling man In the moon looks
down upon them, and his half-sarcastic
.
Youth and summer and love are all there
is in life" So she does not turn away her
lips when her companions face droops
lower.
1t is all very ideal and romantic and
sweet when the lover follows the kiss with
words which make the caress a seal, and
she knows that he respects her enough
to want her for his wife. But if no such
words are spoken she is sure to face the
bold sunrise of the next day with a feeling
of humiliation and loss. Stripped of the
sentiment with which the moonlight sur
rounded the occasion she realizes that she
has cheapened herself in the eyes of her
companion and lessened her value in his
estimation, possibly opened the way for
him to speak lightly of her, if he is boast
full or loose-tongued in his speech of
women. as too many men are. AS she re-
calls the situation again and again 1t
seems to her that the man in the moon
was saying: Are you going to add to
the number Of weak and foolish women
whom 1 have seen kissed under my rays?"
And the next night the moons face looks
very sarcastic and contemptuous to her.
Ella offers no remedy for this, al
though remedy is obvious to every
one. Pull down the moon. Why
allow it float over the land, merely for
an actual ogre the sight of all moral
mines the happiness of our young girls
and threatens our national morality.
Pull the moon down and save our
young people, and also chop of a lot of
inspiration from the pestiferouS poets.
And why stop at the moon. There
is the sun. How often. as moralist.
have we noticed the effect of the spring
sun on a youthful swain. After a
hard cold winter the youth viii warm
under spring sunshine until he becomes
that he attributed the trouble to
lists. Veil the sun. And the tall leafy
trees. How frequently do we see the
young man under the dire influence of
green umbrageou bowers slip his hand
about a girls waist with the quick.
calm assurance of a man eaShing a
check Cut down the trees. And
again. the low burning light in the
front parlor. 1t is known to almost
everyone. The soft tender glow of its
curtailed brightness lights up the cell
ing but leaves the lower part of the
room and the armchair in an amorous
twilight How dangerous. indeed. is
the turned down parlor lamp. Put
IL out.