Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-09-05
OF MATRIMONY
TRICKS THAT ARE PLAYED IN AN
CLING FOR MATES.
Financial Pitfalls Laid In the Path OF tn,
Unwary-Both the Sexes Practice Deoep-
tion-Severai Amusing Exsmples-Ths
Bitter Is Sometimes Bitten.

A certain much quoted wise man of old
said that "in vain is the net spread in the
sight of any bird But so insidious are
the snares that nre often laid to catch elf.
gible suitors that they are too often unsus.
pected and undetected, until the fatal mat
rimonial moose has been tightly tied round
the victims neck.
Perhaps In matters matrimonial the fai,
sex arc more sinned againt than SHINING
but on the whole the division of forces In
this game, in which, as in war, all is fair
is pretty equal. The men tell the lis
which bait the matrimonial hook, the Ia.
dies act them.
Not every mamma, with q few revoltinp
and marriageable daughters on her hands
for disposal, is so simple as that dear old
lady who fed her daughters largely on a
fish diet, BECAUSE as she in9eniously oh.
served, Fish is rich in phosphorus, and
| phosphorus is useful in making matchcsl,
1t would take us far beyond our present
purpose to attempt to sound all the DEPTHS
of the deceptive wiles of coquetry dress
and make up" by which the ovcrtrustful
of the plain and straightforward male sex
arc beguiled into believing the objects Of
their-to begin with-merely polite atton-
! tion to be worthy of a life's devotion.
These are but the natural weapons of the
sex, highly polished and dcftly welded by
many though despised and unused by a
few.
Some have gone as far as to say that the
word "matrlmony" is derived from the
fact that the state II names is so much
matter of money, and certainly great
many of tho snarcs laid In the path of tho
unwary bachelor by designing mammas,
maidcns and widows are financial pitfalls.
1t is generally supposed, and not with
out grounds, that while men in general
Look twice at a pretty face and hardly take
the trouble to look at plain one at all,
II the plain girl has money sho Is fairly
certain to be married long before the pen
niless beauty, and Of course the wealthy
beauty Is, so to speak, snapped up before
she has time to think seriously on the mat
ter; hence the Importance of money as a
bnit leads 10 much painful cndeavor to ap-
pear well off, and to earn tho rcpute of the
possession Of wealth, as the rcputc serves
the purpose of bait well enough if it can
only bc Kept up until tho fatcful words
hGvo been sstid at the altar After that
well, a voil may deccntly be drawn over
the scene
In a ccrtun small watering place re-
tired maior on the half pay list had takcn
up his ;.boGe with view To living rs COM
fortably as possible within his income.
Soon after his arrival he made the ac-
quaintanco Of q very charming widow,
who lived IN n nice little house and up
peared to b, very comfortable indeed
OF course it was not TO be expected that
the gallant soldier would give himself
away by telling the real reason of his resi-
dcnce in ttis particular place, and his
rather boas! full conversation led tho widow
TO believe that he would prove a splendid
catch if he could only bo secured 1t was
an easy matter for her woman's s wit, sharp
ened by experience to devise plan by
which tho major might be suitably i'm
pressed with tho knowledge of her own
wealth, without her having to say any
thing on thp subject. She had, as % small
reserve in local bank, the sum of geo,
and this sho asked the major one afternoon
casually TO draw for her, as she did not
care to go herself, not being convcrsant
with the ways of banks. Tho major was
delighted 10 oblige, and 1t so happened
that he was sent ON the samc crrand about
once a fortnight This set him to calcu-
lating, and tho end of it was that being
thus. as no fondly supposed the posscssor
Of direct evidence of the little widows
possessions he proposed, and was
accepted. But too latc the eyes Of both
were opened. The schcming widow had
pnd in again into tho bank, as soon as sho
received 1t from tho major, her littlc CAPT
tai of f20, and tho major had ultimately
20 confess TO his baro half pay.
a fond father of four girls determined
% DO all ho could to get them off his
1ands was accustomed to buttonholo con-
ident1ally any eligible young men who
night happen to drop In and inform thpm
hat 1t was bis intention to lcayo to caoh
)t his daughters as near G2 900 aS he pos
ably could. But the trick was too papa-
Die. Tho poor man could not have mus
cred ~ for each of them, and as in small
l!aces the real state of matters can hardly
10 concealed he was mado the subject Of
nuch ridiculo and was often facetiously
'cfcrrcd To az "old two thousand"
'Oihg Il step further. some have been
known to havc their wills drawn up in duo
orm, leaving to the female members OF
heir families large sums of money, in tho
lopc "f there by creating tho necdful favor
'blc financial impression, though the sums
20 left were entirely fictitious. The law.
'or IN such case is not Inado the solo re-
1ository of tho contcnts OF tho will, rs u
rW ludiclous hints given in the proper
quarters are sufficient to spread such par
lcNlars - II Is desired shall reach the cars
II those whom it is intended to deceive.
1t las INDEED happened that the astuto
ogal gentleman called in to make such
fictitious viii. has been himself thoroughly
Veil taken in. A certain widow who occu
1icd largo house in fashionable London
district, without MEANS and living entire
Y on credit, ut last outran her long suffer
ng creditors patience, and they bcgas to
press her hard. Bothinliing herself of
way out of her difficulties, she sent for u
solicitor, who happened to bc unmarried
md in very large practice, and instructed
lim TO mako her will In It she disposed
If properties and invcstments-all purely
the tuno of $50, 900 or Geo.
300. Not long aftcrward the solicitor pro-
POSED, was accepted and found himself, on
his marriage, the husband of u penEiless
Words.
Early Shoeblacking.
Shoes were blacked as early as the tenth
century The substance used seems to