Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-03
SENSIBLE WOMAN.
She Would Not Risk Marrying Man
 Who Abused His Horse.

She Would Not Risk Marrying Man
 Who Abused His Horse.
 A Jersey man who went out for pleasure-drive with his sweetheart not long ago received a needed though rather severe lesson on the necessity of being humane to animals in this day and generation. 1t was q very her day, and when the drive was about half over, the horse became balky. The driver thereupon lost his temper and gave the animal terrible beating. Then the trouble began. A constable saw him and promptly arrested him for cruelty to animals. He was una- ble to pay the money, and his compan- ion settled the business for him. Then she went home and wrote him a note, and this is what it said:
 When man will so brutally beat horse and so easily lose his temper, a woman marrying him would take the chance of the same treatment"
 And the rest of the note released him from the engagement.
 Most people will be of the opinion that the young lady in question did exactly what was right, and that she was fortunate in discovering the dis position of her fiance before instead of after marriage. Insensibility to the pain of another is not a trait which is particularly desirable in eith- CT q husband or wife. While, of course, 1t is not to be inferred that ev- cry man who will beat his horse will also beat his wife, cruelty to animals so vitiates the moral nature that those perceptions upon which sense Of Justice depend are blunted. The in timacy of marriage is so close that happiness can only exist where there is mutual forb bearance, together with certain sensitiyeness to the feelings of others. The man who does not possess this sensitiveness may not act ually be cruel to either wife or chll- dren, so far as physical maltreatment is concerned, but he will say and do things which are quite as brutal as q blow with whip would be. There are q dozen considerations which are likely to restrain him from wife beat ing-the opinion of his neighbors, GUS tom, fear of retaliation by her rela- tives, fear that his wife may invoke the law, or merely the fact that it $ not usual for American husbands to express their sentiments i'll that way. But if his nature is essentially cruel he will find ways to torture those de- pendent upon him which are worse than any physical pain. The true test of mans character is not to be found in his actions when he is restrained by public sentiment or fear of conse- quences. He is his real self when he is free to ast, to indulge meanness or passion or cruelty toward some crea- ture which cannot retaliate and has no means of defense. The Jersey man who is the unenviable hero of the incident above recorded was subject ed to this test and apparently he failed. He may have had an idea that by his lack of consideration for his horse he was showing a manly ana stern strength of character which would impress the girl in the seat be- side him. Some men have an idea that women rather admire those who are capable of cruelty. These men are trying to fit sixteenth century ideas into twentieth century civilization. It cannot be done. 1t is true that women admire brave man, and often the man in question is a soldier or q hunter, but there Is a very fine dis tinction between the brave man and the man who is ever ready to inf1ict pain. What the modern girl sees to admire in the soldier is not his will lingness to shoot other men, but his readiness to be shot himself; not his murderous impulses, but his sacrifice of personal safety. The kind of wo- man who would like a man better af- ter seeing him act cruelty toward a helpless animal is not it to live in a civilized country.