The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-12-28
papers, I call that fun"

- p r
over the rest Of the sentence, which was
unintelligible TO her.
"Yes, spread il far and wide. Stop
every body we saw and tell them. Grace
said, when she walked in church Sun
day, she wanted every soul there to
turn around and look at her and say:
That girls engaged! My dear. it was
packs of fun. She wore lovely gray
trimmed broadcloth with fur, and her
mother gave her set of silver fox
for an engagement present. Our pew
is away up in front, bnt I sat in the
watch her when she came in. ! tell you
everybody stared when she rustled in
late with Jack Jones following herr"
as he nice, Mr.. Jones?" Lucy asked,
family.
mo, not very. Grace didn't like him
much and she was awfully stuck on a
fellow in Harlem; but, of course, Jack
proposed and he didn't"
II think that is perfectly dreadful.
Don't northern girls have more than
one man in love with t&em?"
Amy girl is pretty lucky to have
one" Hildegrade said, frankly. I'D be
glad enough if j thought there was
some fellow gone on me. 1t must be
loads of fun to be engaged, shouldn't
you think so, Lucy? How did your sis
ters act before they were married?"
II tell you we didn't know they were
engaged till a short time before their
weddings, and they had just as many
beaux up TO the last as they ever had
in their lives. Eliza was engaged to
several men, and to one of them till
a few weeks before she was married,
but Annie Lee had right peculiar ideas
and wouldn't engage herself to more
than one at a time. 1t is always pleas
ant to "A girl TO know she is admired,
and she doesn't believe for a moment
that every man who says: i love you,
really means it. 1t is nice little at
tention, tiatters her vanity and certain
iy does him no harm. Those three
words don't necessarily mean: Will
YOU marry me-? and often ii goes no
further. When it does, if she accepts
him. they are engaged--both sides are
probably already engaged TO other peo-
ple-and il is the easiest thing in the
world TO break it off if they get tired
of it,
We'll, l never in my life heard of
anything so queer, Lucy. Up north a
broken engagement stamps a girl hor
life. | have never known but one, and
everybody thinks there must be some
thing wrong with the girl, or he
wouldn't have broken it."
"Iie?" the southern girl exclaimed,
Mortified. AT home no honorable gen
tleman ever breaks off an engagement
himself. There are plenty of ways he
can make her do it, and give her the
credit for it, You remember in Kip
Ung's poem how Sleary rubs lather over
MS mouth, and pretends he has fits, SO
Miss Bofkins will give him up, which
she does, and all her friends have the
satisfaction of thinking that she Tilted
him.
But, Lucy, how about being engaged
to several men at once? 1t seems to me
horrid to kiss four or five men and tell
them all how you love them"
II don't understand YOU" the south
ern girl said, bushing very red, ''of
course she doesn't kiss any of them. and
as for saving those things, there are
lots of ways of letting men think what
they please without word on your
part. # man is conceited enough to
thick just because you engage yourself
TO him that you love him-weil. il isn't
your fault. Mother never told father
she cared for him till after they were
married. There is a dear old lady at
home, as ugly as sin, and wrapped up,
heart and soul, in her uninteresting old
husband. One day she told me about
some of her love affairs, and finally /
said: That makes nine men you have
admitted YOU Were engaged TO. Did you
intend TO marry any OF them| Well,
honey, she answered, demnrcly, i hope
| intended To marry most of them
Ny aunt was engaged 10 her husband
seven years, and i'll all that time she
never once allowed him to kiss her.
Dt hIG lit DtiOlt tIt NtNulllSs slt Ntui
with him 10 the door. and in d rash mo-
ment, he srooped and kissed her lightly
on the cheek. She said her face burnt
for hours with shame and morttication
and she was SO angry that she cried all
night. II was all her mother could do
TO make her go Oh with the marriage"
Lucy. all this sounds like a fairy
tale. Such things may have been true
80 years ago, but are they at all like
that today the Brooklyn girl asked
with great curiosity
They are just the same in 1899 as
1899, Hildegrade. j told you about my
sister just now. Two months before
she was married, we had a big reunion
at Christmas. and while we were at the
table. my brother-in-law rose aud pro-
posed toast TO the bride-elect. Annie
Lee turned such a vivid scarlet that
every eye was fixed on her, and before
she could speak, she burst into pas
sion of tears and left the room. Eliza
was engaged TO a number of men, and
I'm afraid she never broke off with poor
E'roul. InNpa at al Ja no mn ,,, fr,,,,