El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-26
The Fuel Of Love
Long Engagement Is Not Fair to q
GfrI-More Than ear Is
Trying on Love.
Ry Beatrice Fairfax
% By Beatrice Fairfax

~ HE question is asked many times.
rs a long engagement fair to
= the girIc"
IL certainly is not. An engagement
of more than a years duration is as
trying on love as SIX months OF mar
ried life. and more fatal
man and his wife in such short
time as six months accumulate COM
munity of interests They have a
home, and the home instinct is the
greatest anchor love knows There is
the hope of a family, the tie Of their
denial the girl-wiIe makes has its re-
ward in something tangible.
If she is disappointed, she cOnceals
it in her pride She was wOOed and
won. and is married 70 the man she
loved These facts stand out as il
written in splash of gold with which
she would cover every appointment.
Ine engaged girl has nothing 10
sustain her in the waiting period of a
long engagement but love and hope,
sturdy Offsprings of her romance at
the beginning, but they soon begin to
weaken
The days of their courtship were so
ideal that neither the man nor The
woman sees a reason why they should
not continue and they become engaged
with no immediate prospect Of marry
ing.
Loves Him the More.
At first the sense OF prOprietOrship
which an engagement gives the man,
the joy of knowing that she is his,
without the tormenting thought 81
paying for her material wants. makes
his happiness complete He spends his
evenings with her. and his little bank
account grows On her part, With
mates every good girl, she works fever
ishly on dainty little household access
series putting in tiny little stitches
with a prayer Of thanksgiving that
O.
These she puts in what girls call
hope box and she begins 70 take
more pride in her hope box than N
her personal appearance
She loves him all the more when he
does without new suit that he may
add to mis- fund for their home; Won
ankle, she takes II for granted that
he loves her Just as much in last
years hat, knowing that the price Of a
new hat has increased her store Of
household linen.
The economy never grows irksome
to her, for the reason that WOmaus
love grows on its opportunities for
sacrifice and service. but IL pals On
him He Is neither married and enjoy
ing home, nor Is he a free young
man. at liberty TO come and 90 and
spend a dollar as he chooses.
II IS easy for man 10 make OF
himself a martyr He begins TO regard
himself as eligible to the rewards OF
the early Christians because he gives
cooking stove fund may grow.
Feels Sorry For self.
He feels sorry for himself, and the
first twinge of self pity a lover feels
IS the first OF many staOs at the heart
Of the girls he loves.
He occasionally strays- The even
ings when he is not with her are no
longer his most weary hours; they
have become the evenings off lie
flirts here and there, and the engage
ment OF which he was at first 50
proud becomes something to conceal
because Of the hampering influence II
would have on his relations with other
girls.
The girl with her head bent a little
lower over her embroidery anG sem
stitching. continues to take such Joy
in anticipation of their future she
doesn't see that the face Of the future
has changed She has grown older. and
IS losing the freshness Of youth When
he takes her out he is conscious that
she isn't as smartly attfred as other
girls. Man-like, he doesn't see the
sacrifice; he sees only the effect
Loves fire that needs renewal OF
fresh beauty for its fuel" She has
neglected the renewing Of fuel in ner
certainty that his love was lasting. and
realizes her folly only when the ashes
are dead and cold.
The tie that binds a man to an en-
gagement Of marriage is as fragile as
gOssamer. and when it is broken il
leaves him with no scars.
a girl IS bound by a tie which her
days she viii bear on her heart marks
of this painful lesson in mans falli-
bility when that engagement Is
broken.