The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-12-22
FULFILLING A DUTY.

Any woman can marry some sort
of fellow. 'Tis the sheerest folly
to question that. It is an infinitely
bigger achievement to remain unmar-
ried-as many sensible women do
from keen sense of duty to others,
loyalty to high ideal or for wider
sphere of action, which is fortunate
for the rest of humanity, for the
world would swing along very tame1y
without the unmarried woman.
She is generally owned by syndi-
cate composed of the various members
of her family, and she is passed back
and forth among them-a sort of
jointly possessed treasure-to be loan
ed wherever it happens to be most re-
quired, frequently serving as the
uniting link between the dissenting
factions thereof. She feels all the
interest of an owner in the worldly
possessions of the lucky syndicate
which knows her ministering, and
yet in all this great universe she owns
absolutely nothing. For more than
one reason she is tremendous source
of comfort when things go wrong, the
source of things that cause man to
blaspheme under his breath and cast
about in his mind for somebody to
lay the blame on. She makes fair
ly good scapegoat after years have
tanned her spirit and taught her the
wisdom of silence. While she has
youth and attractiveness she finds it
very true that marriage is possible for
any woman. She may discuss by the
hour; she may write about it at
certain rate per column she may
dream of the bliss of possessing a
home and real sure enough man all
to herself of the satisfaction of in
dulging her own tastes and following
her own inclinations of the sweet
ness of an unselfish love and the
soothing of mans sympathy when
heartaches and other aches wax
strong; of the pleasing senses of pro-
lection that come with mans arm
always between her and the world.
She may even have an occasional
idea of trying the experiment with
some particular one of her numerous
admirers, but when she looks around
and sees the many empty places that
nobody else can fill, and remembers
the many people who need her she
hasn't quite the nerve to desert her
post. She believes that another wo-
man will console each man in whose
life she has created an aching void
and that no one can fill the other
gaps. She is convinced that it would
be selfish just then for her to think
of marriage for herself.
As she grows older and these temp
tations come less often she fills the
sentiment craving side of her nature
with other peoples love affairs.
Many matrimonial aspirant goes to
her for a bracer when his soul is sick
with uncertainty and goes away with
certain buoyancy and sense Of
peace.
1t probably requires much grace
and tact to know just how to behave
when people you've tended through
sundry infantile ills and spanked and
bossed generally begin to wear grown
up airs and be patronizing. Its even
worse when they loftily take you into
their confidence about some budding
romance, going into all the details
for fear you wouldn't understand,
you, who've been there SO many
times, but the unmarried woman is
equal to even this, and she gets the
lions share of the condolences, too.
Being very mortal, there come times
to the splendid abilities and permitted
circumstances to curtail the possibili-
ty of their development why he gave
her soul with such infinite capacity
for loving and enjoying and withheld
from her the beautiful things of life
and the realization of her ideal.
When she consecrates her life to
her kith and kin, she almost invaria-
bly, carries with her the possibilities
of physician, nurse, cook, housemaid,
and, when an emergency arises, gen.
orally commanding the whole situa-
ton. She's "a rock in a weary
land'' when a small, pink, colicky
| edition of humanity arrives on the
scene. She halves the sorrows and
burdens and failures and doubles the
Joys and successes with which she is
called upon to sympathize. She it is
who gracefully crowns with tulle and
orange blossoms the girl who walks
down the fower-bedecked aisle to
stately wedding music, to return a
wife. Her fingers press down the
lids over eyes she had loved and bid
the departing spirit godspeed on its
last journey, and with quivering
heart and throbbing brain under a
calm exterior she goes about sooth-
ing grief less bitter than her own, be-
cause it finds relief in expression.
When she dies, there is sorrow in
consolable in many rudderless homes
over the first loss she has ever failed
to tighten, and for the longest time
they wonder how they can find exis-
tence possible without her. They
never before realized her actual
worth; she had been part of their
daily necessities always. They speak
of her with hushed voices and sor-
rowfully as though she had gone
away on long, wearisome journey
when she has only fallen asleep after
a brave struggle to find her first real
rest.
Yet some people actually declare
that the woman who doesn't marry
fails to fulfill her whole duty to the
race. .-Addeke e. .ShazO.
ttUrc. eau - Said Uncle 'RaStuS