The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-01-11

Married and gone. 1t is the same OLE
story. Love and courtship. Then come:
the engagement ring and a blessed in.
terval of fond hopes and happy dreams
and then the happy day is fixed-the
suspicious day that is never to be for.
gotten--a day that. brings happiness OF
misery and begins a new life. Their
comes the license, the permit of the law
which says you may marry, you may en-
ter into bonds. The state approves it ant
the law allows it, and it will cost YOU
only dollar and quarter. Cheap, ism t
it? And yet it may be very dear. Their
comes the minister, and the happy pair
stand up before him and make some SOL
emn vows and listen to prayer and &
benediction, and they are one. In q
moment the trusting maid has lost hel
name and her free will, and is tied fast
to a man. Well, he is tied fast, too, so il
is all right all round. reckon, but some
how l always feel more concern about
the woman than the man. She is help
less sort of creature and takes the most
risk, for she risks her all.
was Eliminating over this, for there
was marriage going on at our good
friend Sam Jones' house, and their pretty
daughter, Laura, was changing her name
and her home on this the last day of the
year and going off to live with man she
hasn't known very long; but / have
diagnosed him from his face and features
and am satisfied with her choice. He is a
big-hearted gentleman, or else the signs
fail. / wanted to be present and give
them any blessing, but was not well
enough to go-I've got the elephantlosls
from my toes to my knees, and can hard
ly meander across the room, but 1 am al
ways interested in the marriages of our
young people. It is the most serious busi-
ness in this life, and if the peril of 1t
was known beforehand many of the young
PEOPLE would hesitate to make the
change. The chains Of matrimony and
the bonds Of marriage are the right
words When men make partnership
they can't get along we'll if they are
unlike in disposition, or in moral princi-
pie or in business ways, but they can dis
solve and separate at pleasure and try
another man. A man and his wife ought
to be alike in almost everything. In
something's folks like their opposites-
their counterparts. A man with blue
eyes goes distracted over pretty girl
yet when / look into them, though I've
been doing that for fifty-four years. But
in mental and emotional qualities and in
tastes and habits and politics and religion
they should class together.
1 never made any mistake about my
choice of partner for the dance of a
life, but I've thought of 1t a thousand
times that If Mrs. Arp had known /
loved Goldfish and got up by daybreak
every morning, she never would have
had me. 1t was nip and tuck to get
her, anyhow, and that would have been
the feather to break the camel's back.
Well I'm mortal glad she didn't know
it. though / am free to say that if / had
known she slept until the second ringing
of the first bell for breakfast and was
fond of raw oysters, it would have had
a dampening effect upon my ardor for a
few minutes, only a few. But l have
seen some mighty clever people eat oys-
tiers raw and sleep late in the morning.
But still a man and his wife can harmon
iZe and compromise good many of these
things, and it is beautiful illustration
of this to see Mrs. Arp cooking Goldfish
for me and fixing it all up so nice with
eggs and cream, and it is a touching