The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-06-09

IT'S the CLEAN and the dream that would
lead us NStrAy,
The keen thorns lave crimsoued the roses
of May
Lead me to love. dear. and teach me to pray
Frank l.. Stanton IN Ladies' Home Jour
nal
Matchmaking Mothers.
1t is the custom to vilify the match
making mother, and to apply all sorts OF
opprobrious rpithets to the woman who ut.
tempts to influence her daughters cho.ce
of husband i'll any way. Yet surely at
no other time is girl more in need of
the counsel and experience and wisdom Of
Der mother than when she makes the p.y
Mentous decision that must make or MAJ
her future happiness. With curious in.
consistency parents who would not tr.,st
the immature Judgment of young girl
Ill the trivial matters Of life, yet feel they
must not interfere III any love affair il,
which she inlagnes her heart is engaged,
Nothing is more common tnan to hear /,
OF Susles choice. but of course we
wouldn't take the responsibility of br-,k.
ing off the match
Above all other people. Americans tax
purely sentimental view of marriage
We are rather fond of boastiny vain.
sloriously that with us marriage is al,
affair OF the heart and not of the h",.l
TO which one is rather cynically incliu,tl
to suggest, that, perhaps, that is thu
the head has had time to estimate the fl.
" the heart has been guilty of commit
ting. No one would think for mn,u"r,
OF advocating hiarfi0ge without love t.,
sentiment, and yet the marriage thar is
based solely on sentiment, with no foul.
dation of suitability Under it, rarely
enough brings happiness to either patty.
III novels the roble lord who lrtir>
society and marries the beautiful cram.
bermaid. or the tenderly reared nriress
who elopes with the romantic-lookins
coachman. are described as living in pov-
erty forever after, in Il state of s,,Derud]
bliss. But the most elementary com
mon sense teaches us that things don
happen that way in real HE. One m.:v
BE- very. certain the chambcrmaids sim,
pliclty bored the society man after the
had had to wash the dishes. and clean
,he pots and pans awhile, she took no fur.
Their stock i'll the romantic theory thai
love is enough.
Parents seem to have Il baSlful timitl-
ity in discussing such subjects with their
children. and II kind of rowardi,e that
seeks to avoid their share of any re-
>ponsibility in the matter If Mamie
comes home from Il summer resort and
announces she is engaged to marry somc
man she met there, it is seldom that any
thing but Il cursory investigation is made
into his past or present. Mamie says
she is i'll love, and that settles it. Yet
Mamie's practical papa, who let's her
marry Il man Of whom he knows abSo-
lutcly nothing. wouldn't think of trusting
her to buy Il horse for him. lie would
go and see about it himself.
The matchmaking mother is supposed
to be always scheming to get an estab-
lishment for her daughter, and IN cstal,-
lishmcnt is II thing romance cannot
abide. Practically, good home is a
rather comfortable thing. not to be
scorned after one has settled down to
everyday life. Any middlc-aged woman
knows that romance that must wear
ragged shoes, and shabby gowns, and
listen to the bill collector forever knock
ing at the gate, must inevitably give way
under the strain, and she is doing 10
moro than her duty if she does the best
III her power to prevent her daughter
from wedding homeless poverty and in
competency: Much the same thing may
be said of the pretty fallacy that prompts
many Il warm-hearted and impulsive girl
to marry man to reform him. 1t is
something that appeals to the nobcst
and most generous instincts in q; wom-
ans heart-that fatal instinct that
prompts woman to- always sacrifice
herself for what she loves, but, alas! it
is almost always Il hopeless and useless
sacrifice. The man who has not man
hood enough to save himself is never go
ing to do it for a woman.
1T Is IL rare case where mother does
not set her daughters we'll being before
any wishes of her own. and if more girls
listened to their mothers counsel i'll Sc
Letting husband, we should see fewer
cases of domestic infelicity.-New Or
leans Picayune.
How Long Shall a Club President Serve ?
1t is through the summer leisure and
the summer jaunting about that club
women have an opportunity to reflect
ment. and also to meet and exchange
opinions on such questions with other
members of the sisterhood. A point for
discussion between two New York club
women who met at the Seashore the
other day was that Of long and short
term presidencies. As each woman is ut
the moment at the head of hourishing
metropolitan club, their words are per-
haps especially impressive.
One gave it as her decided opinion. ar
rived at after a considerable personal eX-
perlence and careful observation of that
OF others. that two years. at the mini
mum, with three or five years or longer
in the case of large clubs. was the proper
constitutional law in relation to the pres
!dent's service. THE choice of Il presi-
dent should be sufficiently permanent: -
she said, ITO insure getting the right per-
son, and when she is in the chair she
should feel that she has time to develop
her position according to the effort and
resolve with which every club president
should take the chair
The other club woman. with equal insis-
tcnce, thought the matter of sufficient i'm
portance, on the opposite side, to warrant
the intervention of the state, or even the
general, federation. Rotation in offie, -
said she. ''is the life of the club movement.
Every club woman should try the expe-
renee OF an official position in her organ
!zatlon, and, excepting in some notable in
stance, like that of Miss Willard, every
organized body of women should change
its head frequently. In the small clubs
l consider it positively essential to their
continuance. There is the greatest posi-
Die danger in these limited circles of get
ting into rllt, and nothing so eliminates
that possibility as frequent changes of
leadership. Until woman finds herself
at the head of club, she and her fellow
members have no idea just what sort of
a presiding officer she will make. If it is
demonstrated That she is q good one, it
is easy to re-elect her: if she is not, one
year of her is better than three, or even
two. The good that is done the woman
herself remains about the same, whether
she is good one or poor one: it has
shown to her her own limitations, be they
small or great"
1t is almost impossible to come to a
decision applicable to all clubs upon this
question, which has been vexed one
from the beginning of clubs. The organ
izations differ so widely in usage that
some demand almost a life term, while
others thrive OH frequent changes in the
chair.-Harper's Bazaar.
Sweet Tic Retwcen Mother and Daughter.
The careful shelter of the girls of the
stately Colonial days in American his
tory is as possible with us today as it
was III the olden times. Not in the let
ter, perhaps, but in the spirit. But be-
fore we can bring back those ideal infiu-
cnces it is necessary that we should
return to one or two Of the conditions
which existed and made those influences
possible. Our mothers should be more
familiar with their daughters than they