Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1902-01-17
The Testing Of
q Man
BY WIhnIHM BhOSS.
'FIN.1Ik4N10J[lty7-F1-F l7--IlLoILrNE ~Flrftfll
Copyright. 1901. by Authors syndicateJ


7 oNG ago, some person more or
H. less wise-they are woefully tire
some, these sawmakers - declared
Shat when a woman will she Will.
That's all very well, and perhaps
St is for the better part, true;
but there are slips between lips
aGd cups, pitchers often are brok-
en- by making steady company of
the we'll curb. and. in fact, one can't
always safely bet on sure tip. have
Mttle doubt that woman will when
she will, if she can-but there's the
rub, as Shakespeare wrote, and was
most uncommonly abused by Critic
Goldsmith for being so disagreeably
vulgar, thereby proving that poet is
without honor in his own generation.
If she can. One must reckon with
tais essential ''if she can" 1t was be-
cause of this lack of reckoning that
Medora Folsom-something very dear
to woman, her pride, entered into
Che shacllles of matrimony with
n rude and husky male person
who had big feet and coarse hands,
which is quite contrary to all the con-
ventions of maidenly expectancy,
when maidenly expectancy is delight
fully dwelling upon the prospect of
marriage. All properly constituted
nnaidenly eXpectancies do that, and
A,edora Folsom was altogether a most
properly yconstituted girl, and had been
well taught, having a good mother.
IN itself this last is full marriage
portion for any young woman who is
aot looking for coronets.
Medora lived on the North side, up
near Lincoln park, in one of those
pretty by streets running lakeward,
which are by no means aristocratic
and by no means plebeian, but just
good, comfortable, respectable, we'll
to-io American-which is fine enough
for anybody, even crown prince OF
Ehe ra jah of Singapore.
And Aledora, who was 90 years old
and as sweet n girl as ever bloomed
hn the countless myriad of girl gar
siens this old world has looked on since
Osiris was only man and had not
Shought of becoming deity, had
given her the rare happiness OF being
Nvooed by two ardent lovers lat one
and the same time as the ringmGsiteI
would say. II had looked for quite
awhile as if John Brown would carry
away this winsome prize and bear il
10 his tent triumphant. lie had tht
1;rst innings-which always counts
and Medora really liked him-whicl
&1elps-and her mother favored hi
Ssuit--which may or may not have beer
an advantage. Upon this latter poin
sa:ie may be pardoned n tolerant de
gree o9 skepticism. The basic quality
s5f glorious woman is contrariness
&c you want her to, she likes 10 mak
you believe she would rather not; i
you urge her, she SHES; ii you coerc'
her, she backs; if you command her
she bolts. My opinion is that it wa
largely because of her dear mammi
that Medora refused John Brown, th
airst time ne asked her.
She didn't send him away peremp
rorily, fatty. about his business-tha
would have thrown the poor fellow a
the feet of some other girl-the bold
saucy, thing-and have outraged all 0
Medora's finer feelings, but she plead
ed that she didn't really love him ye
enough to want to marry him, foreve
and forever (this was in Chicago, bu
Medo-a was good Episcopalian), an
Hhat, for the time being, there was Il
hope. Besides that, Folsom is a pre-
cier name than Brown, don't yo
EAial? It's a matter of taste,
know a woman whose name was ono
Miss Angela Beatrice Montgomery, ye
agw her calling cards bear the it'll
Mrs. Adam Potts. And she is prou
OF II.
So John, poor John, fingered, an
used to make long calls on Sunday ever
tag after service, when all the famil
was in the parlor, and talk about II
weather, the new vested choir az
what a sympathetic voice the rectt
possessed. 1t was rather slow for NJ
aora. / think she rather resented III
tincomplaning alteration, which a
e,eDted it's fate and kept its mant
sheet. / think that at times she ha
wished she were Sabine maiden al
John was a Roman swashbuckler wi
no twentieth century foolishness abo,
so plant willow as mere girl.
And, resenting. when Aylmer Has
Iugs came along, gay, self-centere
tall. dark, with white hands-so d
ferent from Johns, who was an enl
ueer and sometimes conveyed a Fl
.yrance of oiled rags-she seemed
Weld TO his impetuous suit and to po
John grew very naughty, .disdainf
and coldly polite. Soon she let it
quietly understood that she and Hai
5ags were engaged. There was
Sornlal sanouncemen MT, and no weddi