The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-12-28
SCRANTON MORNING

will not be always untoward. cannot
promise any Of the things husbands are
| supposed to bring. cannot promise a
home. My own living is precarious. de-
pendent upon my daily grind of newspaper
work. For though l hope to achieve sue
| cess with my novel. great successes with
novels do not mean much money. l do not
feel. either, that shall ever be free from
money cares; luxury and are to continue
| strangers.
cannot promise to be faithful to you un-
l will try to do SO. l cannot promise to
assume cordial relations with your rela-
| tives, nor accept your friendships as bind
| Ing upon me.
cannot promise to be faithful to you un-
I'll death, hut l shall be faithful so long as
| I fill the relation of husband to you. l
shall not lead double life or conceal
from you any change in my regard toward
| you. IL at any time l find a woman whom
I feel should live with, rather than with
you I shall tell you Of her with perfect
frankness. think shall find you a!l-suf-
ficient. but I do not know. Men and wo-.
men change, grow weary of things, OF
| bonds. of duties. 1t may be thai I shall
| become and continue the most devoted ct
husbands. but l cannot promise it. Long
years of association develop intOlerabie
| traits in men and women, very often.
On the other hand. let me say l exact
nothing from you. i do not require you
to cook for me. nor to keep house for me.
You are mistress of yourself, to come and
go as you please without question and
without accounting to me. You are at lib
erty to cease your association with .ne at
| any time, and consider yourself perfectly
free to leave me whenever any other man
comes with power to make you happier
| than /.
! want you as comrade and lover not as
subject or servant or unwilling wife,
do not claim any rights over you at all.
| You can bear children or not, just as you
please. You are a human soul like myself,
| and l shall expect you to be as free and
l itrn tr> all Foe cSN.N
| to do any work which pleases you. 1t is
but just to say that l have never been a
man of loose habits. No woman has any
claim on me for deed or word. | have
| thought at various times that / could
marry this woman or that woman. but
have never before made a proposition of
| marriage to any woman.
| ! have written you in good. set terms
| what you may expect from me. ! am not
| demonstrative man by nature. and my
training from childhood has made me saw
ing of words of endearment. My love for
you must be taken largely for granted af-
ter 1t is once stated, for i regard the word
love" as a jewel not TO be carelessly
tossed from hand to hand.
l have written frankly because ] be-
| leved II would prejudice YOU in my favor.
Had | believed otherwise. doubtless
| should have written in terms of tiatte~y
| and deceit. for Of such is man when seek
| ing woman In marriage.
AS for the acceptance. 1t went by tele-
| graph, ana II said simply Yes.
| Kiln Conclusion.
| Unfortunately for the value of this
interesting novel as a sociological
study. the record here comes to an alb
rupt end. What follows is left wholly
to conjecture. In so odd a courtship of
so new" couple there is bred the
curiosity to peer ahead into future
| yearS Did they live hanDilyp Did
children come? Did the possible man.
or the possible woman ever step for
ward to mar the harmony and to feed
the divorce courts? Mr.. Garland
should remember the dictum of Howclls
that the real verities Of life occur after.
not prior to, marriage But for all that
we should not quarrel with him. He
has given us a bold and an original
book, with merit that stands out
| despite certain carelessness of gram
mar and Of diction l.. S. X.