The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-09

- EAR Uncle Saskatchewan, as I
ff7H am informed the social season is
not vet fully under way here be-
~ cause SO many people who are
necessarily included in all great or
formal society affairs are still at their
country piaces-and indeed remain there,
many OF them until after the Christmas
hoHdays-despite this, there is no little
social activity. This is, I apprehend, of
the small and informal kind which may
pTecede the return to town of all those
entitled to society prominence; yet to me
it bears the likeness to continual elab-
crate gayety. Even 1 am required to
make choice of more than one phase of
social activity every day, not yet having
advanced to the dexterity in such affairs
which enables one, I am assured, TO meet
a number of engagements, the hours of
which coincide or at least are partially
synchronous, I am not sufficiently versed
IN the personnel of the society register TO
indicate those belonging to it who are
yet out of town, but 1 hazard the sur
mise that few having manageable
daughters are among them I made this
comment to Mrs Lacquerre, and she re-
joined that I was getting on to the game
meaning I suppose that 1 was Begin
ming TO display acuteness of observation
1T is a fact, Reuben" she added, that
mothers of marriageable gals have no lib
GElNs no 1LuSpOuQGACS- III OppOAtd4 III
the exercise of their own preferences in
their going and coming. They must, or
think they must, dispose of their time so
as to miss no chance to get their gals well
married. It is not all for the sake OF the
gals, but par Ay for the sake or the
mothers, that the campaign is pursued so
sIeeplessly. A woman whose gals are well
married begins for the first time In her
own married life to have a good time OF
her own. Then she goes abroad TO see
what entertains her, not TO be seen where
the gals may entertain; then she may be-
gin to read-oh, indeedy, 1 know OF
mothers who have never opened a book
from the time they were graduated to
the time they paid for their daughters
wedding breakfasts; then she may stop
at her country place after the week end
parties are all over and the house belongs
to the owners again, instead OF chasing
back to town to get Mary Jane into the
marriage market before the bargain rush
has disposed of everything but the
remnants and insists.
I am aware that Mrs. Lacquerre warns
her speech with some degree OF tropical
hyperbole, yet I give some measure OF
credence to the remarks here quoted ow-
ing to my personal knowledge of the sur
prising industry displayed by those seek
ing bargains in the marriage market.
Some of nv own experiences have been
a shock to my modeSty. It appears that
Aunt Sarah reported my income at a sum
very largely below the actual figures, so
for time I was not supposed to be de-
sirable party in a worldly sense, as
have since been disclosed to be. Mrs. Lac
duerre says that Aunt Sarah sent out
''bear tips on me to head off competi-
ton" She also remarked: Your Aunt
Sally knew that knew how much you are
worth, but she hoped to conceal it from
the market generally, and this narrews
the fight for you to her and me for her
Josephine and my Frances. The scheme
worked like a mice for Sally, because my
gal is quite a fool about such things and
wanted you to get out and make reputa-
ton before you asked her to get into the
ring with her, so Sally had you almost to
herself Then that newspaper story about
your being. one of the wealthiest bachelors
in the market upset poor Sally's plans.
You are out in the open with no closed
season to protect your hide, and every
mother of a manageable gal in town is
taking pot shot at you"
It would be unfair discrimination to give
this estimate of Aunt Sarah by Mrs.
Lacquerre without presenting the reverse