Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-07

4 trouble think and ! believe the
l4s4S&I circumstances bear me out, that it
was really Aunt IAuras fault. And
when a person is so Jealous about her religion
that she can't believe that it sometimes leads
her to make mistakes | think that shows there is
good chance that she is going to make very big
ones. Anybody knows that who stops to think
Anyway it was Aunt Laura who first spoke
about the lottery, and she did it before us ALL
Uncle Harry remembers as well as anything
She was talking about somebody's marriage at
the breakfast table one day, and Uncle Harry
said he guessed it was about an even thing both
ways, and she was awfuly shocked
Henry" she said, in that sort of tired way
which means that il she didn't have faith as
she refers to her religion. to fall back upon she
would be real angry-"Henry, you speak i fear
the people Of this generation do only too com
monty. Marriage" and then ] knew she was get
ting favorite subject" marriage should be the
holiest Of sacraments, something divine, some.
thing which should prove to the participators
that they are truly good, that God is All in
All" She paused just moment But, aIasl
it is the way Of the world to say that marriage
is only lottery; and ! fear that, with the lack
of sincerity shown by the present generation,
that is all too true"
You sec, she had been thinking good deal
about marriage lately Dams account. Uncle
Harry had got an awfully nice girl picked out.
with lots of money and just as sweet could
be. Anybody would think he would be glad to
marry her. Dan wouldn't have anything TO do
with her, and that was a grain of comfort for
Aunt LAURA but not much. She wanted Dan to
marry girl who would lead him into her religion
Dan was worse about that than he was about
Uncle Harry's girl
II wouldn't mind n girl with sense" he said,
"who can play golf and ride and drive and be
fun. If had to marry l might marry her.
But as for the others-pooh! You sec, Mommie,
there isn't any such thing as love-"
That, should say, is the worst thing you can
tell Aunt Laura, for when she talks church she
means love and God and health and everything
that is anywhere, and, of course, when you say
there isn't any love you mix her up awfully.
why, Daniel" she began
ooh, know said Dan. 'T don't want to
hurt your feelings, Mommie You believe in it,
so it's all right for you. But as matter of
fact"-and Dan kind of puffed himself up the
way he does when he tells you that what he
finds out is facts while other people only think
up theories, which, of course, must be so, be-
cause he works with real things-"as a matter
of fact, love is something which absolutely does
not exist. Human beings have the same instincts
as animals These are inherited. The monkeys
passed them down to us. 1t is an instinct to
have children and rear them, and custom has
brought us into the habit of marrying for that
purpose. But love, pooh! Blinded by our Gus
tom of mating, we mistake our instructive pas
sion for tender feeling that we believe other
animal has. | glad that | have gone beyond
that. I shall marry-yes.' For, like other men,
/ have the instincts that inherit. But for
the manner of it, why shall select someone
with the least possible troube-someone who will
take off my hands the details of the business
and leave me free to carry on my studies unn-
peded.
If you know anything about religion you will
understand how Aunt Laura felt at being talked
to that way. She very panied, but she said
no more. Uncle Harry however, who had been
listening all this while, now spoke up with
joke.
''Why don't you try the lottery plan, then "
he asked. "You might sell chances ON yourself
for dollar a chance and perhaps get enough
money to build house or laboratory. You
could turn the business of being married over to
your wife, let her run herself and get your meals,
and you could go uninterrupted"