The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-22

New York. Nov. 21.-Did II ever strike
49,. that. as a nation, we demand rathef
mean sort of fun?
The Joke in the newspapers, or at the
+beater. that causes the widest laughter
Is that directed at somebody's mother-
in-law. at an old maid or at somebody
who is not young in years. The American
renerauziug is wonderfully lacking in re-
snect He forgets that there is no old
maid Chow abominable that phrase Isl VINO
could not have married had she wished.
He forgets that when sickness, sorrow or
death comes to a household it is the kindly
old maid to whom he turns, not only Tor
sympathy, but for active help. He forgets
mai when the mother of his children died.
It was the old maid aunt, or the old maid
sister who took care of them, who taught
them to love him, and who trained them
TO be a credit to his name. he 1orsets
all about this, and thinks it is no more
than she ought to do, because she mas
no family of her own. But who does
everything he ought to do? l have an
idea that when that man, and his number
is many, is wandering around the gates
of heaven, praying for admission, he will
be surprised at the number OF old maids
securely seated therein. And he will be
more surprised when, of their unselnsh-
ness. they send up a duplication Tor
him.
The stupid-looklng man who tells, with
great glee. a Joke about a mother-in-law
never stops to think how often mothers
in-law are really mothers-in-love. How
many men have been helped along in
their business by their wives mothers?
How many men would find their dinners
much less attractive If it were not Tor
the mothers of their wives? And now
MANY men, when anything worries them,
tIrn as naturally to their mothers-in-law
as flowers do to the sun? You couldn't
count the number of men who have &C
cepted kindnesses from their motherS-ln-
law, and yet, these very men, instead OF
curling their lips with scorn at vulgar
Jokes about them, seem to find such jokes
most interesting and most witty. And
then, too how these young men laugh
at the jokes about old age? But are they
going to be young forever? And do they
ever stop to think how much more know
ledge there is in an old head than in
young one? Youth seems to think that
it will always be beautiful and interesting,
that 1t will never need consideration or
sympathy; and it goes along jeering at
that which 1t despises, until some day
the truthful mirror calls its attentions
to wrinkles and gray hair, and some
other day it finds that it is neglected for
younger men. Then comes the loneliness
of old age. A loneliness. my friend, that
is too often deserved. If, while you are
young and strong and bright, you trou-
BILE yourself about nobody, who is less
attractive than you are, how can you ex-
pect to find sympathetic friends when
the days of your youth have passed away
Your old age will be miserable, and your
death will be lonely. Think out where
the mistake was and while there is time
give some thought to those who have
not as much of the real JOY of life as you,
and share, in a sympathetic way, of the
good things with those whose pleasures
are few.
Life is a game Of give and take. Things
even themselves up even in this world
Then there is something else that you
think 1t fine to make a jest of-and that is
marriage. You talk about it in a light way;
you laugh at its responsibilities, and YOU
see no reason why 1t should be counted as
a sacrament. And yet, the bringing to-
gether of two people to vow to love and
10 be true through sickness and health
through riches and poverty, until death
makes or mars two lives, and how do you
prepare for it? How do you choose the
woman who is to be the close companion
of your life. Your dearest friend and your
helpmate2 Do you make an effort to see
her in her own home surrounded by those
of her own name, and far away from the
maddening crowd called society? Do you
make an effort to read her heart, as if it
were book, where YOU could discover
the strength of her love, the certainty Of
her truth, and of the beauty of her faith?
DO you try to watch her behavior with the
little children about her, in order to fore
see the sort of mother she will be to your
children? No, you don't look for wife in
this way. You meet her at a dance at the
opera, or at a dinner party. Your heart
Is captured by her ability to chatter to
dance, to dress WELL and to have train
of foolish adorers following her.
The daughter of a silly mother, she is,
too often, educated only for a social life,
and she knows nothing whatever about
making a home in which a man can live
and less about creating a love in which a
man will find happiness. Sometimes, af-
ter her marriage, a good strain, that has
laid dormant, will awaken, and the ig-
norant, but loving wife, will endeavor 10
make herself what she should be. But
this doesn't happen often. Oftenest, she
regards you as a desirable catch, as a
good money-maker, and one who ism
much bother. Fancy noble hearted
woman regarding her husband with
pleasure, because he wasn't much both.
err AS If to be bothered. and to be both.
cred very much, to give pleasure to a
man she loves is not a joy for the right
sort Of woman. How can you help 1t all
Well, the world can't be made better il
day, but II can be improved every min.
ute. You can add to it's goodness by re.
fusing to find fun in low, vulgar joke.
against women, against old age, anC
against marriage.
Somebody said, not very long ago, thai
while our American men were generous
they claim the right to be generous il
their own way, and refused, unlike tn,
men of other nations, to recognize duties
that were involved by the ties of kindred
The poor relation in England or in Francs
is cared for by the rich member OF tn,
family, and cared for in a courteous way
Nine times out of ten she has a regulat
income allowed her, and this is delivered
not as If II were a nuisance, but in tn,
most polite way, and usually accompanie,
by note of kindly inquiry. Then. sh
who is favored looks up to the head Of no