Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-03
Life's Problems
Are Discussed

We often hear people say in com =
menting on the experiences of oth-
ers, 81 could have not have lived
through the things she has endured" "
or, "if such and such thing should
happen to me 1 would die. 1 couldn't
bear it,"
But human nature is a strange
thing. If the circumstances we
shudder over in imagination actu-
ally occur to us we met them
with a strength and courage we had
not believed ourselves capable OF.
This was exemplified in a letter
l have had from a woman who has
passed through fire and flood and
has come out triumphantly.
She was peculiarly alone in the
world, having been left an orphan
without either brothers or sisters or
any near relative. When quite young
she met man who had the gift Of
presenting himself and his affairs in
a roseate light. Her illusions about
him were soon shattered, for size
discovered Immediately after maj
riage that he was a conscientious
objector to any kind of work, and
that his capacity for drink was un-
limited. He celebrated the birth OF
their first child with a spree which
lasted six months.
In order to live and take care
of her child, the woman went to
work in a factory. Later, another
child was born and life became still
harder for her. The children were
both ill from lack of proper nour-
ishment; her small household Ell
fects went for food, and then undtr
the strain her own health gave
way.
But even under these circum-
stances her husband remained Il
martyr to his principles. He would
not work, and to drown his sor-
rows he drank deep and continu-
ously. In order to make his hard
lot more bearable, his parents sup
piled him with food and a little
money; but they either could not or
would not provide for his family.
There were three weeks" the
wife writes, in which l did not
sleep; and as for eating, there was
nothing to eat.
Il suppose it was only :maglna-
ton, but one night as l sat by the
window L heard u voice say plainly:
Leave him! You are only digging
your own grave and those OF your
children And then and there |
made my resolve and stuck by it.
When l told my husband, he beat
me for the first and last time. He
never had another chance.
Il left him, and lived in a shack
with my two small children. / had
not a friend in the world, and not
five cents to buy a loaf oil bread
with. But somehow 1 got along.
Il succeeded IN finding good
home for my children, wnere they
are well fed and looked after and
are kept off the streets. And | am
doing well. l am earning soou
wages and regaining my lost health.
l have found friends, too. When L
look back to my married life, l
don't know how l lived through it
ALL"
Another woman has written me
of an experience similar to the one
L have just related, although not 50
heart-rending.
She married man who told her
glittering tales about his income
! and his prospects in life; but soon
| after the wedding she discovered
that he was relying on her to DC
the bread-winner and mainstay OF
the family. After a few years, dur
! ing which she accepted the posi-
| ton he had assigned to her, he WAS
apparently seized with a desire 10
| travel and departed without leaving
! her his future address. She asks
! me what L would suggest her do
ing?
suggest that she rejoice in be-
| ing free from so useless an ell
| cumbrance, and that if he ever re-
turns the only welcome she gives
him is that of a barred door.
The moral of these two stories
is comprised in the old saying,
Look before you leap" The most
foolish thing a girl can do is 10
marry a man without having in
formed herself as to his habits and
manner of life. Promises of reform
are not worth the paper they ale
written on or the breath it takes to
| utter them.
IL may be very romantic to de-
clare: II love him, and | know ne
will make good!" But there is an
other old saying, Fine words but
ter no parsnips," and most OF us
like our parsnips buttered.
1t is easier to do without fine
words than butter
Almost every woman cherishcs
the delusion that she can reform
! some man by marrying him. There
may be cases-perhaps one in ev-
! cry ten housand-where q woman
has succeeded in doing so. But IN
that event It was because the man
had the desire in his own, heart for
reformation and the sincere deter
mination to accomplish it.
One of the oldest things about
the feminine heart is that where
as woman will spend any amount
of time and thought in \selecting a
wardrobe, she will snatch up hus-
band from the bargain counter and
then spend the rest of her life b..
wa.ling her fate.