The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-10-30
EXCELSTORt

EXCELSIOR!
A young woman who enjoys the ines
timably blessed privilege and distinction
of being member I'M good and regular
standing of one of the "sets" of New
Haven Society was heard to remark the
other day that the only difference she
could see between her "set" and a GER
tain other "set' was that occasionally
a young woman of the other set mar
ried, while no young woman of her ''set"
ever married.
This truthful and discriminating re-
mark raises some interesting questions.
For instance, which "set' is the super
ior "set,'' and which ''set" is it better
for young woman to be a member Of?
There can be little doubt about the true
answer to the first question. That
"set" which is the farthest removed
from the ordinary life of the people is,
of course, the highest in the Society
scale. Therefore the "sst'' in which no
young woman gives herself away in
marriage is clearly above that "set" in
which occasionally a. young woman so
gives herself away. When a Society
set reaches such a height of culture
and style that no man i'm or out of it
wants to or lis fit to marry any of its
young women, and when none of its
young women is weak and vulgar
enough to be willing to marry ''be-
meath" her all has been done that can
be done to make that "set'' superior"
But is the superiority worth the while
of the young women who are born in it
or who attain unto it? Are they bet
ter off upon the heights of 1t than they
would be a little lower down where
there would be at least a chance that
they might be married, or a great deal
lower down, where there would be
reasonable certainty that they would be
married? There is more doubt about
the proper answer to this question
than there was about the proper answer
to the first one but not so very
much more. A we'll constructed young
woman naturally and rightly wants the
best that she knows about, and a young
woman who happens to be a member of
the best Society set of New Haven
wants the best there is for her in that
"set" If that best is a life of celibate
superiority and style she wants, or
ought to want, that. If she should not
be content with that she would show
by her discomfort her unfitness to be a
member of that set And we know
of nothing in this world more sad than
a lack of fitness to tbe member OF the
best "set'' in New Haven Society.
Therefore we feel and we say that the
young woman who is a recognized
member Of that ''set"ds better off where
she is than she would be anywhere else,
even though married. And she ought
to know it. And IL in a moment of
weakness she should be tempted to wish
that she belonged to a, "set'' in which
there lis an occasional marriage she
should brace up, cry "Excelsior!" and
bear in mind that her set is like the
Society of Heaven, in which there is no
marrying or giving in marriage. There
can be no better, and a young woman
who does not appreciate it is clearly
not fit for it,
We do not understand that the young
woman who made the truthful and dis
crimina ting remark which has formed
the text of this discourse made it in a.
complaining spirit, and we therefore do
not charge her with being out Of her
place. She is undoubtedly perfectly
proud. fully philosophical and simply
serene, as becomes a young woman of
the best "set' of New Haven Society.
who knows that so far as Society and
Marriage are concerned Earth and
Heaven win be alike to her.
b. Trs g.