Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-07-04

heads, and occasional clever words; but
they never get their clothes inussed, ns
Stanley Weyman's women must, nor do
they sacrifice themselves 10 any extent.
They are in good society and believe that.
II There Is any sclf'sacriiicc, It had better
DO on the part OF the men.
Love IN those wonderful stories OF Mary
Wilkins, is portrayed, but i Is seldom
happy love II Us love In which hard work.
deprivation and village gossip play such
large parts that 1t seems scarcely worth
while TO have it, for It doesn't make any.
body happier aud Il brings about no end
of suffering that, following the New Eng
land fashion. as described By her, must be
borne Ia silence. Bret Harte's ladies too
often belong 10 the order that have the
adjective perfect as q prefix. and they. are
always willing, as an expression OF their
love. 10 do one great wonderful net OF nm
seliishness, and after that 10 disappear.
Yet people have to go on living, and Tor
my owl part ] could never quite under
stand It. Nobody dies or drops out of life
just At the right moment, except In stories
like these.
REAL LOVE- MUST oULMiNATg.
There are whole lot OF books that have
come ont lately, rather nasty books, where
the women are all d. AS, and have adj
vanced ideas, and these advanced ideas are
usually in dead opposition 10 the laws of
decency. Love doesn't play very promi-
nent part in these stories; that Is, not
nice. sweet love, and the women pictured
think that II is much more important to
be epigrammatic than II is 10 be loving and
wonianly. Personally, ! like real love
story, one that eliminates, as all love
stories should. ia marriage. And in. the
peopling Of the world with children born
Of q happy marriage aud who appreciate
love because they see II IN their own home
every day. OF course, this Is old-fashioned,
but did you ever read anything more silly
than that description of George Meredith's
OF Aminta and her schoolmaster out swim.
ming and yearning to kiss each other?
Tho heaving OF the ocean and the heaving
Of Aminta and the plunging of the school.
master and the signing of the wind, and
the long drawn gabble of everybody con-
cerned is unreal and foolish. And yet
people guSh over it. And people call this
book a novel. II they called It an incen:
tive to the reading OF the dictionary
could understand It: il they called It u
mongrel | could understand II; but when
| they call it novel, then am surprised. A
novel. my friend, is n bit of imagination in
which there are pictures OF real life ideal
lied; In which there is love story, series
OF incidents, proper plot and proper
elimination. | am not a critic-not u bit
| OF IT, but despise book that Is nothing
but mixture of words and nastiness.
| 1 used 10 say that IL was safe TO let a
| young girl who loved reading rove at her
will through library containing all sorts
and conditions Of books, bar | don't say
thar nowadays-not in this day of green
carnations. Smollett is not refined, but,
on my word, ! would rather PIT any of
his books in the hands of young girl
than these abominable novds, of which
there is supertluity In the market to-day.
They not only defy SIN, but they give hor-
rible suggestions, and they gre altogether
beastly.
SIN Is NOT BEAUTIFUL.
And 1t is just as true to-day as when il
was first said, that the wlges of sin are
death. Not death as we Usually think of
it, but much worse slate of affairs.
The loss of something thai we value most;
the gong away from us q that which we
most love; the great suffering of the body,
or entire loss of the brln-these, | be-
lieve, are some of the EXPRESSIONS OF dealt
that count among the wlges OF sin. My
belief may be n wrong zone, but | have
taken little trouble to fatch the career
Of one or Two people, ami / tell you that
those who sin with the body suffer in the
body even while they are here. If we
will just keep our eyes open we will see
the people who do wroiS have their pun
ishment in this world hs well as in the
next. A sermon2 It STARTED out as dis
cussion of books. But That is one of the
great advantages of falling about books.
1t invariably starts somhthing else and il
keeps one from idle gossip.
LIFE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT BOOKS.
Fancy a life without them Oh, no,
don't fancy ii; il would seem something
too dreadful, The horror of life without
visit to Vanity FAIR" having nc
acquaintance with "Dombey and Som" nc
chance of meeting the Three Mousaue
taires," or hearing about the Man with
the Iron Mask" or weeping happy tears
over Col. Newcome. or feeling that life Is
better because Ethel was in It, or laughing
over Dora and Jip, or smiling as Bella tolo
John of the ships sailing over the sea and
what it was bringing to them; it would bt
indescribabl1l Oh how utterly WORTHLESS:
life would be without all these people. No
ideal people, but real people, for just such
people are ABOUND us every day making
part of our lives, as they live their own. W.
fail TO recognize that we are part of tn,
romance, for that is what life is-I
romance. No matter how simple ii MAY
seem, it has its love story and its plot. it!
odd characters and its witty interlude, ant
always there is the self-abnegation; ant
then comes the reward-sometimes her
and sometimes hereafter. but surely is tn,
page marked "tnis." The end comes t.
life just as 1t does to any letter which
reaches you In life. Just us it does to thi
one, which is signed Bah.