The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-10
THE nICH GIRLS HANDICAPs.
A Western PHILOSOPHERS Finds That "a
Fortune Is IA Detriment.


Fortune Is "a Detriment.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
As the heroine of romance the rich girl
has occupied an enviable position In the
ranks of society ever since the day when
fiction had it's beginning. To the novelist
she is always young, always beautiful, al
ways accomplished, surrounded by small
army of worthy lovers, among whom she
only needs to make free choice In order
to insure her eternal happiness She may
encounter some minor drawbacks to per-
feet bliss in the course Of her career, and
may suffer some twnges Of heart over the
necessity Of inflictng unhappiness upon
the chosen one, but such suffering is only
skin deep and OF short duration. Taken
all in ALL her career is Invariably depicted
as one Of unalloyed sunshine, and the
shadows Of others ills only create faint
and vague penumbra about the inner cir
Gle Of light in which she moves and has
her being.
Now, 1t is sad fact that these con-
illusions are for the most part exceedingly
faulty, for the reason that there Is little
truth in the postulates on which they are
based In the first place, the rich girl is
by no means always beautiful, but she
has, on the contrary, often been admitted
to be uncomey, with a Jack Of physical
attraction which not even all her wealth
can gid. In our Western country, where
fortunes are frequently acquired by men
who have passed middle life, daughters
have often passed the heyday Of youth
before they begin to enjoy the advantages
Of wealth 50 that when riches come they
are neither young nor have they enjoyed
educational opportunities or q chance TO
acquire those finer graces which only leis-
ure and refined associations can assure
to the woman Of average clay and which
so largely compensate for the lack OF
mere beauty of feature or Of form. More
over. the possession Of worldly advan-
tages Of any sort are very apt to bring
down upon woman something more than
her need of envy and jealousy and criti-
clsm. and ali Of the other hateful mani
festations which find EXPIRE ssion against
the privileged class Indeed, IL Is only the
elect who can so generously ana so wise
ly dispense their surplus wealth that the
very act Of giving shall not bring down
upon the donor more of resentment and
denunciation than Of gratitude or love. I'm
less she be gifted with ready and re-
ceptiye mind, the life OF the rich girl who
does not possess the qualities which will
make her popular member OF society
must commonly be a dun and empty one.
Cut off by circumstances from all iucen-
tives which might make her life busy or
III.
the public eye and liable to ridicule should
she attempt any specially for which she
has not marked proficiency, the career that
stretches out before her Is often aimless
and monotonous, with no possible escape
but one; and the greatest pers Of her
existence wait along the road that leads
to this.
Marriage offers to the rich and the poor
girl, to the dun and the talented, the full
est expresseiOn Of all that ts best in her
manhood. The exercise Of unselfsh
love, the direction Of a household and the
creation Of a home which shall embody
her own individuality, the development
and expansion of character that mater
nifty brings the strength that comes only
with the noble direction OF little lives de-
pendent upon her, often eXalt the home
hest life But the first assurance neces-
sary to the happiness of the woman who
would marry must be that she Is sought
for herself, and for herself alone. The
woman who possesses the fewest attrac-
lions is often the happiest in this respect
for whenever girl is endowed with unus-
ual talent, with voice or an artistic hand
and eye, or histronic ability, or has a
lovely face or a perfect figure, or any ex-
ceptional gift there IS some danger that
she may be sought for this rather than
for her more lasting graces Of character
which command "A mans most unselhsh
and most lasting devotion.
The possession OF large bank account
Is a handicap that works In two opposite
directions, each hostile 10 the woman's
best interests. IL undoubtedly serves 10
attract toward hor a host Of interruptions
men. who are willing 20 make o pretense
OF affection for the sake OF gaining their
end. To protect her against adYenturers