Kansas City journal., 1898-11-20
TOO HUMBLE TO MARRY
MEN WHO THINK THEMSELVES NOT
GOOD ENOUGH FOR HUSBANDS.
II Could Not Marry Any Woman
Did Not Respect. Nor Could
Respect Any Woman Who
Would Marry Me-"
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
AT last I've solved the mystery. at last"
This is what a tall girl in one of the new
outaway coats said as she seated herself
on one of the high stools at a lunch coun-
ter reserved for laG!es only.
What mystery? The mystery of life
or love or DEATH asked her companion, a
short girl wearing a sailor blouse.
You needn't be SO smart just because
you are engaged" answered the tall girl.
tartly. That's the way with woman.
She may be as meek as Moses all her life
and as soon as she becomes engaged she
gets a settled. satisfied superior air about
!ler that makes her very sassy most OF the
time
a. I'm sure ] didn't mean to squelch you.
declared she of the blouse. sincerely. but
you spoke with so much solemnity and de-
liberation / thought I'd help you out by
guessing what this mystery is that YOU
have solved. Do tell me. I'm so interest
ed
The tall girls fondness for the sound "f
her own voice overcame her injured dig
hity, and she went on:
Well. you know. girls and women mar
ried and single. never get done talking
about why it is that 50 many marriageabie
All this talk about the extravaganza CT
women. the seitishness of man. is stuff:
I've solved the mystery and | don't care If
I'm nearing the thirtieth notch It's
credit to some men. in all likelihood, that
I'm not even engaged,", with contempt; ont nPEI,;
uous stare at the big diamond on the third
left finger of the other girl.
Are you out of your head? asked the
sail9r,waist girl. getting red in the face:
III think so If you don stop talking Such
tommyrot and tell me what this great .nys-
terry is that you have solved
Il told you I'd found out why, there are
so many old maids on earth to-day and 50
many marriaseabe men unmarried OF
course you know Ned Nomuch and how he
I-y,tl Ni,N.a
years. Rumors have come and rumors
have gone with each changing season that
Ned and Faithful would surely be married
that fall or spring. or whatever 1t happened
to be. The quarterly report is being cir
culated concerning their fall nuptials, and
so when l met Ned the other day l said:
See here. old fellow. when you going
TO be married?' And | fear / put Signii-
cant accent on the are What do you
suppose he answered?'
There's no guessing said the short
girl.
~ couldn't marry any woman whom |
did not respect. and | couId not respect
any woman who would marry me- That
was his exact reply, those his very words.
Not n Selfish Brute After All.
Twas just like Ned Nomuch to say such
nasty thing" said the sailor-waist girl,
Indignantly. and then she burst out laugh
ing. Il have a greater contempt for him
than ever. The idea cf an engaged man
being guilty of such speech
Contempt for him for saying that ex-
| claimed she of the cutaway coat. Why, 1
never had so much respect for him before;
| Don't you see. the point, Man isn't the
selfish. self-loving brute that We supposed
him TO be. after all He is good. as good
| as gold and true. There's no sixteen
! to one composition in man., What Ned
| Nomuch said stands for all marriasable
How How can an You be so stupid? Now. lets
take. Ned and what he said as, an ex-
| ample. Everybody knows how absolutely
devoted he has been to Faithful for nine
years
or he has been absolutely faithful to
| body knows" interrupted the short girl.
And he feels his shortcomings con-
| to notice the interruption. so keenly that
| he simply cannot marry the girl. He says
pOintedly that he could not respect wom-
an who would marry him; suppose he
knows that he is not able financially to
| give her what she has been used to in the
way of home. clothes, and social pleas
| Ures; perhaps he realizes that he Is not
prepared to rear and discipline children.
that he is not prepared to maintain, proper
| net know enough about the fine arts to
! satisfy this woman whom he loves. in
| other words. he has the sense to know
| that he is rot prepared to live complete
married life
You think so. do you?" said Miss Sailor
Let me finish" answered her compan-
| ion. You know women are very hard on
| men who can marry. but won We say
attribute all sorts OF selfish motives to
| them. and think nine times out of ten
that We are wrong in our Judgment lust
| Ned Nomuch. You know little intellect
| ual fault common 10 women Is deficiency
of judgment. The reason that so many
| men do not marry is because they think
| so little of themselves they feel that thy
are not fitted to mate with a pure. high,
minded woman. and that's the only KIND
| shows that they possess high ideals even
| if they do not live up to them.
One Side of the Question.
| I'm perfectly reconciled to be an old
| maid since Ned Nomuch gave me that cx-
PLANTATION of his not getting married. In
deed feel ii is an honor to be allowed
a greater honor in not asking me to marry
! him than he possibly could do in asking
me to be his wife. I'm satisfied. and 1
| should think Faithful Forever would be
just as proud as she could be of having
the love of such a man as Ned Nomuch.
You do. do you?" said the other. all Gag
| = little intellectual fault common to women
is deficiency of Judgment III tell you an
other that we have. II is lack of ability to
| Now I'll confess that | can't understand
| Ned Nomuch's mean remark from your
point cf view at all. and | think it was a
4
| say and shows up his intensely selfish
| ture. Don't you fool yourself. Marriage
| able men do not remain unmarried because
| they have such lowly opinions of themselves
| and such high and mighty notions about
| women. No man who has not married is
! ever humble. and man doesn't stay single
| because he is such an imperfect creature in
| his own estimation. The majority of men
| who could marry and won't are bachelors
| for one of two reasons: Because they have
| not thought of marriage until late in life,
| and so il is not easy for them to open their
| hearts to love, and neither is II easy for
them TO think of having TO sacrifice their
| settled way or else they stay single because
| the woman of to-day requires and demands
| 50 much in material way. Don't misul-
| derstand me. / respect and admire man as
| much as | do woman, and ENJOY him a
| Thousand time more. and so far as selfish
| ness goes it's about six of one and half a
| dozen of the other. Man is selfish in small
| things and woman in big things, and SO 1t
| 0ocs.
/ And Another Side.
| You took Ned Nomuch for an example
and so shall |. You say he is noble and
| true-hearted and the like. | say he is the
| essence Of seliishness. else he would have
| married Faithful years ago. Why doesn I
| he marry her? Because he has all the priv
| ileGes of a lover and none of the RESPONSE
| biltieS of a husband. and that's the way
| with all of these continuous engagements.
| except in rare instances. Ned enjoys Faith
| ful's delightful companonship every day;
he spends all of his spare time in her beau
| titul home with its setting of music. art,
books and flowers and is absolutely respon-
| sibility free. ! should think a man who'd u
keep that up for half score of years