The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-08-31
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= HER POINT OF VIEW =:
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

her name the photographed rendering
which she had recently adopted-she
signed It "Ilelyn." Imagine it
"1Ielyn,"
Now / can't and won't spell any girls
name "Helyn." This fad Is growing
| to be alarming. and | am too old fash
| ioned to take to it seriously and ami
| ably. Frankly, | don't like It, II one
| Is fortunate enough to be Welsh and
can affectionately own one OF those
| charming Welsh names which mean
Myfanwy." "Blodwyn,"
| "Cwendolyn," etc.-lt's a different mat
ter. That is pure good luck, to have
| had parents canny enough to have se-
| lected such an odd, pretty appelation, |
but to have been born sensible "Kath- |
crime" or Caroline" or Grace" and |
then to spell it Katheryn. Carolyn and |
| Grayce Is really painful for ones |
friends TO witness. I've written feel |
ingly on this subject before, but am
spurred on to saying 1t all over again |
because of that girl "Helyn."
There Is another who has caught the |
craze to the extent OF Ethyl" which |
always makes me think of some new
tangled supplies for chemist. I saw
a Jayne" written at the end of a letter
as a first name the other day and of
of course, too, one had ones opinion of
a girl who could spell her name that
way; yet there was a party somewhere
the printed version of the guests being
Edyth, Elynore, Agnys and even
Alyce and Elyzabcth. The effect was
sorrowful, but imagine ones sensations
when along a little further came Gyr-
tude Esthyr and Francys. The edi-
tori was near writing 1t "edytor," and
ii would have been every bit as sane
rose up and smote the reporter the next
afternoon and asked him what he
meant by writing such gibberish for a
respectable family paper. The young
man, weeping. declared 1t to be the
way the party girls wanted their
names spelled and that as he hoped to
marry one of these Us one day he
dared not edit their copy. The editor
then contented himself with discharg-
ing the proof-reader and telling the re-
porter that IL ever he married while
at work in that Office he might send
in his resignation.
OF all the good old fashioned names
which are tortured out of every sense
and beauty is Mary. Nobody has ever
improved on that name yet Marys
are usually nice, lovable, sensible girls
but by the time they get TO be Mae,
Mai, Marye and Mayme there is no
telling what has happened. MARY Is
always sweet and dear, but Mae" is
n freak. and as for "Maie." as | saw
It spelled the other day-well. there are
no words In English to adequately ex-
press ones feelings about "Maie."
| OF course we are always reasonably
sure that girl who would thus distort
one of the fairest names ever bestowed
is young, very young, indeed, but still
we are forced TO wonder what her
mother can be doing all this time.
What a lot of bridges we cross which
are never there at all. They are not
only our own bridges, those which we
consider forcOrdaned for our own feet,
but the bridges which are not on our
claim and over which we have no
smallest right of eminent domain.
They belong exclusively TO other peo-
pie, even if they are there at ALL and
often, indeed, they are but an evil
. mirage in the distance.
There was the bridge we saw before
) the feet of young girl and We knew
it must be for her undoing. We said
nothing to her on the subject, but did
a deal of talking to each other and
Z even to strangers, as we pointed Omn-
q
to our eyes. She was just a lively
I pretty girl, whose innocence of heart
was apparent even when she seemed
most thoughtless and careless of the
I construction others might place on her
: frivolous steps.
We prophesied all sorts OF trouble
I which would overtake her. Among the
! bridges we saw very plainly which she
must cross was that made chiefly from
4 the broken heart of her mother. who
= now was so proud and happy because
4 Of her confidence in the daughter.
Other bridges We're loss OF position.
; friendship and self-respect, and some
1 of us who We're old and suspicious and
hateful in our thoughts built very
dark and perilOus bridges indeed
( for the feet of this little maid who
danced along lfe's highway so mer-
rily.
I Oddly enough she never crossed one
Z OF them, not a single. solitary bridge
. that we saw in our prophetic fancy.
= Somehow when she came to the spot,
y the clear, sweet eyes detected another
path, fairer and pleasanter than the
= one We thought 10 be hers, and the
y happy feet went safely over because
= the head we thought so light and fool
= ish contained something which we
y failed to note In our diagnosis, and II
2 seemed to guide her past the danger
= Gus places. I wonder If some of us
Z weren't the faintest bit in the world
= disappointed that she did not ster
upon at least one disastrous bridge
= We do so like to say, with a wise
= nod, II told YOU So"
Well, she went on and on through
y the years, still laughing, still carrying
= that merry heart, and one day sht
Z walked straight into the Palace OF
= Love. 1t was strange, but in all tbs
y past when she seemed to be living
such an irresponsible, empty existence
never once had she cared greatly fol
any man, and IL we had known al
= that we might have spared our fore
n bodings and our evil prophecies, 70
y few bridges are before the woman wht
does not allow her heart to be lost ol
u the way, and there is really nobod!
= who can harm her but herself.
x So this day she fitted gaily II
II through the gate OF the Palace " Low
y and the Prince met her on the thresh
x old, and all her journeys thereafte
n were taken over the path where he led
y ever upward, never in peril, never II
X the dark and gloom but always II
VI the light and the sunshine OF her happi
N ness. She Will carry the lightsom
- heart forever, but the careless, frivol
N Gus days lie in the past beyond tn