Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-08-27


she allowed her husband to say that he
had loved some other woman more than |
he did her. Mis- Tomlinson thought that |
'if woman married n widowcr she |
should never ask him anything about his
first wife, and MS Mis- Tomlinson has
been peculiarly successful in marrying,
what she says is worth thinking about.
l agree with Mis- Tomlinson about an
other thing, and that is the politeness of
American men. We were talking about it
the other morning, and this seemed to be
the general opinion. A Frenchman's po-
likeness is like the icing on plum cake
there is no great depth to it, and il is not
the best portion. An Englishman is more
or less polite as he chooses TO be to the
women in whom he is interested, but TO
the world at large he is boor. 1t is true
that If one fell into the river an English
man would Immediately jump in and
rescue her, but us this eldom happens.
il does seem as If a little less bravery of
the intense kind and little more consid
GRAFTON about trifes would make life
smoother. An American is polite to a
woman. because she is woman
and not, AS the Frenchman contin-
ually proposes, because he expects fav-
ors from her in return. She is woman
and weak, and he, the stronger in every
way, feels that, because of this, he can
afford TO cater to her whims. respect her
| likes and make himself her obedient SER
want. II does not hurt women-indeed
| it is very good for them-to receive all
| the courtesy possible from men.
While ! have been talking about polite
ness, Mis- Tomlinson has been thinking,
and from marriage she has jumped to di-
vorce. She says, ''Bein' member in good
standinf, | couldn't under any circum-
stances, believe in divorce, and leaving
religion entirely ont. and good many of
us do that, what would the world be il no.
body kept the VOWS that they make at the
marriage altar? Why, everybody would
be rnnnin' around bein' unfaithful to
everybody else. You ask me. Aunt Maria
il would keep on living with drunk
ard for Il husband who treated me bad, OF
who did not care anything for me? Well
| have been thinkn' that over, and as a
member in good standin', | am bound ia
say this: ! would stand by him just as
long as ] could endure it, just as long as
before the world | could keep brave
face, and if the cruelty came when the
man didn't know what he was about.
would forgive him then just us | woult
forgive II baby who struck me In the face
because he didn't know what hard hi
meant Then, if a man was cruel to m,
when he was sober. when did not de
serve 1t, ] don't quite know whether
would stand that for SO very long.
would talk to him, and maybe | woul,
go away from him. but would never ge
divorce. | would not leave him, undc
any circumstances, if had children.
had children, ! would lift their father oil
of the gutter when he was drunk. woul,
stand any cruelty from him because
know that their little souls would be
pledge before God of the necessity of m,
kcepin' the vows | mnde when I Marie,
that man. What would do if he care,
/ more for some other woman than he d
/ for me? Well, | would sit down an
, think again. | would try to think whetl
r er l was dom everything to make hl
I love me. ] would try to find out whn
o was the reason he cared more for III
other woman than he did for me, whethe
1 ] made his home as tidy ms it might b,
o whether ] fed him as well as ] migf
;, and whether | was quite as agreeable q
s the other woman was. Aud then whc
,. ! got at the root of the question | wnul
a reform, and when | reformed | guess
n would manage to bring that man back. N
v Aunt Maria, people can talk as much d
h they want about the necessity for divorc
d but tell you il is mighty mean woma
d who has got little children and who brinl
IL shame on their father by making publ
d things that ought 10 he kept sacred. W
It women start out with expectin' too mut
/" from men. They have told us that "
# were angels so often that we believe
l. Now, Aunt Maria, you and | may |
V pretty good women, but we amt anCc
:, and we won't be until the kingdom come
T and pcndm' that time il is our duty to h
50 have as members in good standn', and
=. be mighty charitable TO tho man who
At name we bear. These are my ideas aboI
ii divorce" ."..
a We all kept pretty quiet after tina
ne We remembered the late amcnted To,
II. linson. We knew he had been pret
ns shiftlcss, and we knew that Mis- TOmli
il son never admitted it, and to the last DO
with him patiently, and when he died Ii,
O. the satisfaction of knowing that
r. thanked her for making him happy. 1t
m good bit when one human hring. at I
70 end Of his life. thanks another for han
s. ness given. Those thanks are worth ha
nj ing. ! wonder if they will come to v
nj or TO me-? Not unless they are earned
10 you or by Bah