Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1902-04-14
A Matter of Reason

SIT is like this the girl said, after
an hours discussion on the subject
love is not enough. Love is blind
unreasoning. If you want proof of
that, only look about you at the I'M
happy people who married each other
for love. There is Cousin Mary. |
was only 10. but even then knew
how silly she and Mr.. Baker were over
each other. She did nothing but write
him notes when he wasn't there. And
he simply made himself the town
laughing stock about her. And now
look. Cousin Mary is nervous wreck,
and Mr.. Baker is simply shftless."
Il am not particularly shiftless. "
Beaman said meekly. He was n big,
square-faced chap, who looked as
though he might have the energy of
steam engine; SO the girl did not stop
to contradict him.
Il learned great many things in
those four years at college, she said
Il entered late, you know. My mind
was sufficiently developed to digest
what | learned. have read good
deal, and l have thought good deal
more" She puckered her brows as she
said this until the two slender lines of
black down over her pretty eyes al
most met in their seriousness. IL
have learned that nature is Il terrible
old trickster. She never tells the
truth"
''She usually brings the seasons
around according to contract" Bea-
man ventured again, but again he was
ignored
"Of course, you can call love by any
sort of beautiful name, but, after all.
Schopenhauer tells us that love is only
passing phase of nature, and that
nature cares nothing at all for the
happiness of the individual. She makes
us into mere automatons."
isn't that rather err realistic"
Beaman asked. He was young man
who had not had time for a course of
modern fiction. where stronger ideas
than this are aired. You are not alb
solutely obliged to believe Schopenhau-
er, anyway. There are Others" with
an approach to flippancy which was
instantly frOwned upon.
1T was simply nature that made
Cousin Mary think she couldn't live
without Mr.. Baker, and that she
couldn't live with Mr. Hitler, who
wanted to marry her. And now there
is Mrs. Hitler, with everything to make
hr M
the world. Everybody knows that she
married MI Hitler because he was
good and rich and sweet tempered.
and he married her because she was
sweet and pretty. when he couldn't get
Cousin Mary. She is happy. and
Cousin Mary is miserable"
Beaman's face had grown square
and stern.
And you think that love- or nature,
whatever you call it, can be circum-
vented by little common sense?"
why not?"
And the upshot of all this is that
you think you would be happier if you
married man with more money than
l have. 1t wasn't exactly necessary to
drag your way through course of
German philosophy and your family
history to tell me that. | can under
stand English without diagram"
you can be brutal" she retorted.
"You know it isn't money!
ut is probably my nature to be bru-
tai. Everything is nature"
But You were just saying"-she was
flushed and unhappy that nature
could be circumvented by little COM
mon sense"
Pardon me. l did not say anything
of the sort
you did"
81 asked you if you thought nature
could be circumvented by common
sense"
well. 1t is exactly the same thing.
And ] do not think So anyway" She
held her head at the angle of contra
diction.
Beaman half closed his eyes as one
who thought he saw the end Of the
galne-but she was looking out Of the
window. and did not notice.