The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-06-09
FINDS HUSBANDS
FOR OLD MAIDS
Woman Matchmaker Diff
cult Task.
PH!LANTHR0PIC WORK
Studies Psychological Aspects-Beau-
ties Fail to Get Spouses-Marriages
to Escape Loneli1ess-GirIs Who
Can't Make Up Their Mind.

Finding eligible husbands for old maids
and exercising general supervision over
matchmaking with a farseeing, kindly
eye. is a novel form OF philanthropy
which would not appeal to many per-
sons because OF the wide range OF dis
! astroUs possibilities It involves. Yet
| there is a woman in New York who is
/ weIl-to-do and who finds herself with
plenty of time On her hands who de-
votes a good deal Of energy and much
money TO this peculiar work. She calls
1t philanthropy, pure and simpl, and
emphatically denies the allegation Ct
/ superficial acqEaiatances that she is
crank" Furthermore. she resents the
inference that she possesses an inordi-
nate passion for matchmaking.
Many years age" she says. IN ex-
planning her unique philanthropy. I
was deeply impressed By a psychological
study OF q convincing type which
came across while reading a novel.
found in this book an impressive de-
scription Of the sense Of abiect lone
illness that bore down a poor unmarried
woman, and I was fascinated by the
depressing situation, for at that TING
was engaged to marry the man I loved
and could lock ahead into the fu-
ture and see much happiness in store
for he. I easily ina gined myself in
that girls position. and the picture
haunted ne 50 persistently that I at
once became intensely interested in the
general subject OF old maids That is
why have devoted so much of my time
to the rather hazardous work. if it nay
be called '-ork. Of finding congeniai
companions for lonely women who are
approaching the meridian Of life with
absolutely no matrimonial prospects"
Beauties Fail to Find Husbands.
This energetic woman has net content
ed herself merely with making matches.
but has gone deeper into the subject OF
marriage and has studied it from the
point Of view of the psychologist. In the
hrst place she has discovered. with
many others, that there are a thousand
and one reasons why some girls remain
unmarried, and. what is even more sur
pTIsing, she is convinced that plain
looks are by no means the most fire. I
que1t cause. This is shown BY the great /
number Of old maids who possess what |
might really be termed pretty. attrac- /
tive faces and graceful, well-rounded /
figures.
One woman fo- whom I have been
trying to find husband was By Gar the /
prettiest Of my acqua intanCes. she STys.
She did not look to be more than TWEEN /
ty-Bye, although she frequently admitted
TO me that she was past forty Hers
WGs an unusually sad case. IN spite Of /
her good looks men never lost an oppor-
tui.ity to shun her and after studying /
he / learned that this was due to a
certain effect Of melancholy Pride and
mystery which her face and manner pro-
dJced- When I first met this woman
she excited my curiosity, and after many
futile attempts I finally discovered that
she had once been in love.
Couldn't Make Up Her Mind.
And the remarkable feature Of the
case was that her love was returned in
full measure But she belonged TO that
rather numerous type of women who
are doubters of themselves. and she
could not make up her mind whether she
loved the young man enough to marry
him She constantly questioned the
depth OF her a1estions. and the result of
this persistent burrowing was that she
found new evidence all the time that
she was right
Her lover was of an exactly opposite
type He was a matter Of fact, level
headed fellow, too busy with the affairs
Of the world to pry into his own soul.
so he really did not know what the OBJ
iect OF his affections was talking about
when she expressed her doubts He '
wanted the wedding day set, but she
shook her head pensively and confessed ,
her fear that after the wedding she (
might regret it and discover that a mis- y
AXE had been made He reasoned with 5
her. pleaded with her. and argued. but I
all to no effect. She still questioned J
herself and the result was that the en- !
sagement waz broken OFF and the young
nan married another girl When it was @
too late she discovered that she was 2
desperately in love with the man and S
when she saw him the husband OF an t
'ther woman she became almost insane T
with jealousy. +
Marriage to Escape Loneliness.
Years passed and she recovered / I
omewhat from the direct shock Of the I
marriage. bat her face has always re- {
aimed the sad. Densive expression it
ore during the first three or four years :
f the mans married life. she con
essed to me once that she made no +
retense of being true 20 the memory Of f
er first love. 7 never think of it she
aid. except as pretty book seem to G
ave read But I feel all alone in the :
-orId and the thought OF remaining =
2nely as long as live terrifes me. You a
ont know how awful 1t is. There j;
Gems to be a gulf between me and my o
lost intimate friends. l long for some