The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-07-01
ADesperate
Remedy
II Was Applied to Two Pa.
tents and Was Successful
By F. A. mitchell

@$**&*+xH+**4+s++***++4@tf+
John" said my especial friend. Mrs.
Edith Allison, II am very sorry to see
you neglecting the most important
matter In mans or woman's life.
Some day, when you are an old man,
tired of the social life, tired Of your
club, forced In the evening to 60 out
to seek the companionship Of persons
whom you care little about, and many
Of whom care less for you; when you
return to your lonely bachelor quar-
ters, with no one to welcome you. to
pass a night alone, you will regret
having wasted years Of opportunity
to provide yourself with home"
= 'sWhat a horrible picturer'
:, "The picture is not half as horrible
as the reality"
Marriage is an awful risk"
"a risk. yes; the other Is a GER
tainty."
HBut l can't compel myself to love
any woman nor any woman to love
me-"
THAT is where we in America err IN
the side of romance. Abroad the prin-
cipal feature in wedlock is the dowry:
here 1t is what we call love. A dowry
ts tangible; love Is intangible. Far be
It from me to decry pure affection,
but that emotional condition, which m
men and women is one minute ecstatic
and the next may turn to hate, or later
to Indifference, Is no basis on which
to make a life contract binding two
persons together"
"Woald you have me 60 into room
biindfolded where there are number
of unmarried women, take one OF them
by the hand and lead her TO the altarT'
You might as well do that as take
q partner while blinded by love. You
don't need to do either. One thing you
can do that is reasonable In choosing
q wife II you take any one into your
employ you require references, don't
your
Certainly"
"very well Why should you not al
the more require references in taking
Wifer
"And the wife. l presume, should Ne
quire references Of me?'
Certainly"
1T seems to me-" replied after
some hesitation, that your idea would
only serve to keep me and the woman
/ might marry still farther apart"
mot If it is properly carried out"
What was Edith driving at? I con-
fess I could not make out. That she
was a woman Of great originality
knew. That she was my devoted
friend did not doubt. She had eau
toned me before this against waiting
till was an old man before marry
ing, and suspected that she now had
some plan for me. l wondered II she
was not bent on making match be-
tween me and some young woman
who, like myself, was growing out OF
her youth and should be mated.
Come, Edith" / said; "out with it
You're bent on marrying me off. What
is your planT
She paused a few moments before
replying; then she put down some fan
cy work she was doing and, looking
me straight in the eye, said:
desperate cases require desperate
remedies"
Granted"
"It would do no good for me to In
troduce you to q woman who believed
would make you a good wife"
II should probably spurn her"
'Nor would it avail to introduce such
q woman to you, assuring her that she
would be happy with you."
"She would wonder If you thought
her bereft Of any taste whatever"
"T have q woman in mind and have
had just such conversation with her
AS have had with you"
The dickens you have!'
Eyes, and she admits that any man
introduced to her for the purpose Of
making a match would repel her"
81 see; you are going to throw us TO-
SeCuSr W1tuOuC our kuOWIS VI SVut
design"
Nonsense. That threadbare theme
Of novelists might do for very young
persons. You and the woman I have
In mind are too old. The only way by
which you can be united is for both
to place the matter in the hands Of
third party"
"As In Turkey, where the parents
arrange matches for their children and
the groom never sees the brides face
till he lifts her veil after they are
married"
"You have stated the case exactly"
every well, to cease generalizing and
come down to definite plan"
'The lady whom have assured that
you will make her a good husband has
consented to leave the whole matter to
me- My plan requires that you do the
same. Do you consent?"
GLOW can consent to what l don't
knowr
"You are both being assured by me