The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-04
The Case of Mr.. Campbelr.

The predicament of Mr.. Campbell, of
Fort Wayne, Is one that all men who con-
template matrimony would do well to con-
slider. Mr.. Campbell is widower AS re-
lated in yesterdays dispatches, he had oc-
cupied this interesting position but short
time when he began paying loverlike at
tentions to Miss Stoler, of Toledo. She
says he stole her heart also, and, what is
more to the point. that he asked her to
marry him and she consented Instead of
carrying out the agreement, however, he
repudiated it, telling her that he had
promised his first wife on her deathbed
that he would never marry again. Miss
Stoler now wishes 30 be Informed by the
court If his promise to her is binding, and,
if it is, she wants. not Mr.. Campbell, but
$4,000 of his money as salve to her
wounded affections.
Campbell. it will thus be seen, is placed
in an unpleasant situation. Either he
should not have rashly pledged himself to
remain lone and lorn through the remain
der of his natural life, or, having done SO,
he should have refrained from seeking the
society of fair and fascinating maidens of
Toledo. If it so CHANGED that circum-
stances over which he had no control, and
not his own will, first brought him into the
charmed circle of Miss Stoler's attractions,
he should have taken a firm grip on his
susceptibilities and sternly and heroically
refused to be as captivating as 1t was his
natural state to be. He should have
brought Klondike atmosphere with him
into the presence of the Toledo maid. and
have made at least a bluff of turning
toward her a marble heart. Failing to do
this, he should have taken to a tree rather
than enter into an engagement which he
meant should be vetoed later by the prom
Use to his departed wife. For 1t is worth
while to remember, whatever a court of
law may say that promise TO a woman
living is sure to cause much more trouble
than to a woman gone, especially if it is
not intended to be kept. One may bring a
breach of promise suit, the other will not;
and If, in the other world, she recalls the
incident. she probably regrets having ex-
acted such a pledge. being now in the en-
joyment of better society and not yearning
for reunion. 1t may be doubted, too, If
any woman asking such promise of her
husband gets any real comfort out of 1t in
her last moments. Knowing him she
must and knowing the fallible nature of
man in general, she must be secretly aware
that such pledge is hollow and will go to
pieces under the first well-directed blow
from another woman.
But there Is reason to suspect, Judging
from the general character Of man, and
not from any known facts in the case.
that Mr.. Campbell's rather tardy decision
to abide by the promise made to his first
wife was not entirely due to restored faith
fulness 10 her memory, but rather to a
conclusion. after mature elaboration, that
the Toledo girl was not all his somewhat
rusty fancy had first painted her. and
that he would be true to the departed as
per agreement-until his increasingly crit
ical taste were better suited.
The episode is interesting because of the
problem involved. The man who positively
knows he would never make conflicting
promises TO women is not concerned, of
course, but the one who Is not so sure
what would he. the average man. do in
Mr.. Campbelrs case? Which promise
would he keep?