The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-05-05
Yes or No,

| her friends.
20. very, answered the cynical maiden
who thought herself clever, especially If
| il is a horribly wet night and the watch
dog with his usual perversity fails to rec
| ognize you
| Yes, 1 admit chimed in the girl with
the arched eyebrows. 'elopements are
romantic and that is precisely all they
are, and the romance quickly gets rubbed
| out by the indiarubber Of poverty. mis-
| cry. and ccld dinners, which always ac-
company runaway Matches
Yes, and just fancy having no wedding
dress no presents, and not even we'd
ding caksl / shouldn't think was mar
RED unless / had great big cake" laugh
| ed the girl with brown eyes
you are CT the earth earthly. my dear"
said the cynical girl with the sweet voice.
But looking at the elopement question
! through the eyes of common sense. 1t re-
ally doesn't pay. If a man is not manly
enough TO marry a girl with her pateItS
consent he VIII hardly make a ro able
partner for life, to my way OF think
1 ing"
But, supposing he is manly enough to
! ask her people. and supposing they re-
fuse their consent?"
Then, my dear Fluff, you must take IL
lA1eS (AtCSB 1oHAh6 q H'NCA S-POAASHNO 80
the world than you, must know what is
best, and you may always rely on this,
that their parents would do all in their
power to promote the happiness of their
children even If only from selfish mo-
tive. for If their offspring marry well it
reflects credit on them. so to speak"
Il can't imagine how Opponents ever
came to be invented" cried Fluffy Head
BY mans seiishness and unmanliness.
and woman's thoughtlessness and care
lessness, if a girl with an elopement germ
in her head were only to picture to her
self how her behavior would effect those
she leaves behind, guess she would hard
ly respect the lover who prosopesd that
she should violate the trust her mother
has miner"
Besides that side Of the question"
said the young m&tron, there IL also
the practical side. How are you going
to be married"
20. by special license, of course" slrily
said Fluff.
Realty then what would be his rea-
son7 for the archbishop requires a good
one before he will grant license: but
if any present intend clipping remember
that there is no Gretna Green In these
up-to-date days
She has been brilliant and conspicuous
figure in society for the last two sea-
sons, and the other day she slipped
around in the quiet dusk to tell me that
she was going to be married
After ALL" she said with something
that was between laugh and sob. 'af
ter all. am not making what the world
calls brilliant match. I am marrying
man who has his fortune still to make,
and the most l can say for mother is that
she is reconciled She isn't jubiIant like
she was when Sallie married Colonel
Croesus. or when Mary married Jack
Benton. Poor motherI I am awfully sor-
ry for her, and 1t almost broke my heart
to disappoint her so, but what was l TO
do? There was Jim. and we were in love
with each other, and bread and cheese
and kisses seemed better to me than truf-
f1es and champagne with anybody else.
But you haven't any idea what l went
through with trying to make mother see it
in any other light than case OF premed-
itated suicide.
II didn't blame her It was just her
love for me, and her mistaken idea of
trying to save me from every hardship.
L suppose it's inevitable, perhaps, that
time should come to US all when the
luxuries Of life outweigh its sentiments
kind of you'll be romantic little while
but you can be comfortable long, long
| time feeling, Ell? Only, you know. it
hasn't come to me yet, and we couldn't
see things from the same point of view.
Did you ever think?" the girl went on,
with her voice a little unsteady that
sometimes mother love can be the cruel
est thing in the world? 1t isn't often that
it is vulgar love of money for moneys
sake, that makes woman want to see
her daughter marry a rich man. She
wants to shield her from work, from
privauons, from worry and cares, and
she forgets how many things money won't
buy. If mothers could have their way
they would put us in nice satin-lined box
es, and pat US on the head and say:
There. there, dear, you are so nice and
comfortable. You have everything rea-
sonable woman can want. Now, just keep
still and be good. o, of course, you feel
bit smothery and you want TO get out
and stretch your wings and take your
part in life; but you will get over that
feeling after while and if you went out
in the world you might get hurt. Be
lieve me, there is nothing like a satin
lined box for comfort, and thank heaven
that it gave you a mother who didn't
let you have your way, but insisted on
seeing that you were properly provided
for
''Of course, I am not advocating a girl
being left perfectly free and untrammeled
in making her selection of a husband
Any ro5tker IS justified in doing anything
she can TO prevent girl throwing herself
away on a man who is idle. or dissipated,
or worthless Any girl with q grain of
sense in her head knows that the man
who has never supported himself isn't
going 10 be able to support her. and that
kind Of grinding poverty would kill the
most robust case of sentiment that ever
lived II a man won't keep from drink
for his own self-respect and manhood,
he isn't going to do 1t for any woman who
ever lived. and the quicker she listens
70 reason and let's him go the better for
/ her. That is the poverty and hard times
that has no hope to gid its horizon, and
no self-respect to make its present endure
able.
But there is another kind" and the So
cfety girls face grew rosy red, and soft
and tender as a June rose. where a man
has youth and health and ability. and
has already gotten a foot-hold in the
world. He is still poor Yes. with the
/ best Of luck, of hard work and self-danial.
ii will ee many years before he will be
able 10 afford his wife many Injuries. but
a mother ought to think a long time. and
be sure before she tries TO keep her daugh
ter from saying. Yes to him. Somehow,
that always seems 20 me the great Amer
lean romance and I never see a prosper
Gus. midd!e-aged American couple togeth-
er and note the mans fondness for his
wife. and his admiration for her. and his
reliance on her Judgment, without think
ing that Il IS the flower and perfume Of
our hardwork!ng. commercial hfa They
/ have worked together. and struggled to-
! gather and bad the sarna idaaIa And In