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Show JrCHMAKING MAMMAS JUSTIFIED. .. I gentlemen of Spain, Jffour daughter Jane. wa? not without much occasion occa-sion that the ancients painted justice with a bandage over Lf eve Th- Judgments of mpn and women arc- far from belrg "true and righteous al-tozHher." al-tozHher." The guilty go un-rflDt un-rflDt of Justice, often; sometime some-time even sinners are canon-iiod canon-iiod while the Innocent are not ' Infrequently beaten with many .'tripes. And of those who' an- censured when they Should Justly be praised there Is none more notable than the devoted mother who does her jt to make a good match for her daughter For ages, so memory of man runneth not to other, openly anxious to secure I 'her daughters, has been a stock and derision, in fact and In fiC-it fiC-it person can by any possibility man Is hut doing her best to n her offspring according to her mailer, fathers are usually quite others to Bee their daughters sat-bfd sat-bfd In life." which well-worn d to men who are able to provide wllh her cult of independence of to matrimony-a cult which en-falls en-falls In love Is altogether a pro-en pro-en M"st of the mothers, prob- "irrtL I n ihe grandinpthera of marriageable girls of , a: b,"';vo Jhorouhly that marriage Is the true if not the only happy lot for every woman that those Ar'i hou8oh',id flrp ".rr,rf',u"lV t-;-,b" "I""'1' hnw"-"' "om.-nted ,hov mav I . H u"0' ''" UOt S" f'ir hol.t the old- time dogma that any husband is better than nom ney. rtheies their heart's desire for their ,l r gi, u U lltTSA mftrried- "B s Therefore the mother of marriageable daughters who endeavors to provide them with good husoanda ,'nr. HS'r ' and cnt'ouragement rather .ha, scorn in. ildicule from .v.-.y s..,ll.o and practical mm ;m. woman. Still this fact does not alter tS othw fact, which is yet more insistent, thai the wcll-mean-ing mother may not only render herself and her daughter ridiculous but defeat he- objects bv all. ng her efforts to be too apparent. The hunt for a husband, whether in person or by proxy, to succeed must be essentially a still hunt. There are few things which men abhor like pursuit of themselves Bun aftera man and he scurries away, flee Horn "him and he will In must . :,se f,,v. hot foot.- And what ne objects to even more than noon and eager pursuit by B. woman Is a chase by her mothe r m h-r belli, If a chase which makes a laughing stuck of all concerned. con-cerned. I h.- aphorism that th- n.-rfe. tlnn of art Is to conceal art' Is never truer than when applied to matchmaking by any one. more especially hv mothers and yet In the tangle of difficulties which 'is s0 frequently fre-quently woven around the question uf getting married there .an be no more efficient and ludlcious aid than that of a mother who has tact enough to help to let alone, at the right moment, and who knows how to make herself agreeable without being officious or suggesting sug-gesting trap matrimonial. The gentle art of matchmaking is by no means one to he despised. On the contrary, were It one possible to teach, every mother of girls would owe it to thoe girls to take out Its highest degrees Unfortunately It is altogether a matter of tact. Naecltur non fit those who do not possess it had best "hands off." In matchmaking, as in so manv other things, "a little learning is a dangerous thing." The Subjects are human hu-man lives, their making or marring, and unless one has much discernment or character. coupled with foresight, and Instinctive knowledge, It Is wiser not to intermeddle, to leave the parties concerned to bring ahoui tii. ir o ti salvation when woe .-end disaster threaten it is another matter The first principle of successful matchmaking Is not to bring about a marriage, mar-riage, but to make a happy marriage, which is Quite another thing. It does not seem from observation of mairlages in general that the women who succ eed best in marrying off their daughters are those who are most solicitous upon the subjec t, and make the most violent efforts '" ,:" w li". - '.to- salng goes ' go a-hunting .vlth ;.' ss hand " m i h nli ,r ll w III usuall DC found that those who accomplish the most satisfactory satisfac-tory results are those who make no apparent attempt at matchmaking. They merely make their homes pleasant and attractive to all the young people in the neighborhood, and leav the love affairs to arrange themselves. It was said of the mother of six girls all of whom married, that her cooking won husbands for her daughters. Unfortunately, she neglected to instruct her daughters In matters culinary and the sons-in-law were afterward heard to complain, "but that Is another story.' The point is that propinquity is an all-powerful factor in matchmaking, and that it appears to bo the wiser course for those who wish their daughters to marry, to bring all the available matrimonial timber within reach mid leave the voting folk? to build their own nests. Above all is It Imprudent to wuve a Mag of matrimonial mat-rimonial design or to display eagerness to adve rtise one's own dear girls. When a bachelor finds himself welcome at an agreeable household, where his sister is si ill more persona grata, and where, moreover, all the other fellows' sisters congregate, he is apt to dismiss the Idea thai any snares are being set for him. and to visit the house regularly and often. Such houses are always popular The mother who has tin- means and the ability to mak hers B social center usually finds that her daughters do not lack for suitors. True , the man whom she most covets as a son-in-law may probably pass her daughter by In favor of some one else whom he meets at her house, but what then'1 It is the fortune of war. the risk of the game, and If one plajs, one must take- the chances. I'.ut all mothers, although they may be willing that their daughters should marry, :ire not undulv anxious upon the subject. Nay, there are even a few to be found whose daughters have to undergo what a re-. re-. -ni . lever w riter In an English magazine calls the "glass case treatment." They look askance at every probable suitor, and are fully" persuaded that no man living Is worthy to wed dear Ethel or Maud. "She." the heroine, "was upon exhibition, but was considered so precious by h-r parents that any man who manifested mani-fested a disposition to admire her was banished summarily sum-marily from the domestic precincts," No ordinary man Is to be considered for a moment, and the extraordinary mm rarely appears. and sn the p.tiM-gon p.tiM-gon Is doomed to single blessedness unless, as sometimes some-times happens, opposition provokes the suitor to win him a wife after the manner of the tribe of Benjamin. BY HELEN OLDFIELD Tt is Difficult to determine which is most to be pitied these girls or those whose mothers are abso- Hj hlteiy eager to marrv ihem off, and who have neither Hj the tact nor the good sense to conceal that eagerness, HJ w ho pounce upon every marriageable man who c omes H Within reach as a possible SOn-ln-law, and make them- J selves and their daughters a byword for all their a - HJ qualntances. Hfl But worst of all matchmaking mothers, good. bad. HI and Indifferent. Is the mother who has a thirst for Hj) admiration of herself, indeed In such a case, and J today suc h capes ar too common to be i ssed over In i 'HI silence, the best thing a girl cat o Is to look after her own matchmaking, and. so ir :; sh can, avoid Hj all maternal advice or assistance. ' IB "What 1 would demand of a mother," says Pests- s Hi lOBil, "Is only a thinking love." Is no better ! v Hi course for a mother to pursue when her daughters Hi attain to marriageable age than In naval parlance to ' Hil "stand by" ready to aid and -o j tbbbI RUCCI - . ent bui no! to ln( LbbI goes well. It re.,v jwtfXzr''''. HJ amount of thinking jgg , , HJ Buffer on dam hi ;i t LvJ and I.. ftef Bl.-' w itch i bn t naught .r -' ' i.i HnSta t sssl mirers. to "manifest jPt radeshlp and affectionate Ini S' I HJ est which i !n n d.' HJ fussln.'c. th- sixth - v T- some mothers have an c which a I wav keeps them ci- .' j the right side w here the r HJ dren are concerned. X- HJ |
