Marion Marlowe's Courage: A Brave Girl's Struggle for Life and Honor — page 33: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Tam in deep trouble and need help. You have been so considerate of others that I know you will assist me in my misery. «J am nearly twenty-five years old, and have peen ‘heart whole and fancy free’ until this sum- mer when I fell in love with a man who, unhap- pily for me, is already married, but who returns my love. Weare both of us unhappy and miser- able excep on the few occasions when we can be ‘alone together. I cannot think that I am right tolove him, but at the same time I feel that I annot give him up, and he says that he will ‘never relinquish me. What can we do to improve our miserable position? Fannie D. F.”’ ” Unfortunately, the story of your love is not an uncommon one. The little god Cupid is no re- specter of persons or conditions, and he not in- frequently works sad havoc with the peace and harmony of the family. We do not believe any one is to blame for falling in love, but we do not hesitate to say that a man and woman situated as you are are guilty of the gravest offense when ~~ - in misery to some one. Roth men and women - ofttimes marry hastily only to repent at leisure, but no self-respecting girl will allow herself to be ~ to blame for that repentance if she can avoid ite We would advise you to discontinue meeting this man at once, as no good will come of your fur- ther acquaintance. Try and interest yourself in ‘some worthy young man who has no obligations elsewhere, and inthe end we are sure you will be much happier. If you find that you cannot. overcome your jove you can at least suffer and _ be brave, and so uphold the standard of honor in woman. . * | . © n love, Miss Shirley? For if ow you will be able to under- stand my trouble. I have had a sort of under- standing with a young man for nearly three years without our being actually engaged. Re- cently he has shown great attention to another ‘Were you ever i you have been I kn of the other fellows care to show me any atten- tion as I have been so devoted to my lover that I have barely treated them civilly. I feel as if I had wasted all my best opportunities and had really no hope left in life. Can you not show me some way to win back my lover? IRENE 8.”’ Weare afraid that your own deportment has been your undoing. Evidently your attentions to the young man have been too pronounced and he has tired of the love which he held so easily. Owen Meredith says that ‘‘man’s heart is like that delicate weed, that needs to be trampled on boldly indeed—ere it give forth the fragrance -you wish to extract.” Perhaps if you had not shown such marked preference for his company you would have proven more interesting, as the spice of uncer- tainty is pleasing to most masculine natures. You had better treat his ‘‘change of heart?’ with - total indifference, and perhaps in this way you will re-awaken his interest. 6, “Lama salesgirl in a large store and I hav e read ‘My Queen, No. 1,’ with a great deal of MY QUEEN. - = you encourage an affection which can only result . girl, and I am left alone much of the time. None — 31 pleasure. I wish I could meet a few girls like Marion Marlowe, but, alas! they do not often grow behind dry goods counters ! Some of the girls I meet are nearly all very coarse in their manners, andafew of them are positively vul- gar, Why is it that the girls or so many of them who work in the big stores are 50 dreadfully rude and use such shocking language? It seems to me that there is no excuse for using profanity or telling improper stories, and yet they are both common occurrences, especially in the lunch rooms. Can you not do something to make them. different? Please scold them a little in your correspondence department. ‘(PRISCILLA 8.” We are very sorry indeed to hear that your as- sociates are so undesirable, but we think that in- stead of telling tales about them you should be talking to them kindly and urging them to be better. No good will ever come of scolding the girls, and Grace Shirley loves them far too dearly to everscold them. The poor things inherit much of their wickedness, and their, poverty-stricken, uncared-for lives have made them bitter. If you would read the story ‘‘For Gold or Soul?’ (No. 18 Street & Smith’s Alliance Library), we think it would: do you good. It will tell you how one young girfin a department store did a great deal of good, and in such a way that it made everybody love her. Do not set yourself up to be better than the girls; but just try to make them better in a gentle, Christ-like manner. 7 “JT am receiving attentions from two young men who have both proposed marriage to me, hey are very different in disposition, and I am which to decide upon. One of them is » ata loss ce quit@ poor, but tries to do all he can for both my hen he is at our house mother and myself, and w to supper insists on helping me wipe the dishes, and little things like that. The other has a better position and more salary, but he turns up his nose at a man who does anything about the house, and always sits on the piazza and smokes until we are through the work. Mother says the first fellow is the best, but the last one seems mote manly to me. Please tell me your opinion? “PAULINE B.”’ We quite agree with your mother’s judgment. Some of the bravest men we know are the most thoughtful of trifles, and any little thing thata man can do to lighten the burdens of others is manly. We would not careso see a man wiping dishes or making beds for a living, but his ability to do these things does not detract from his man- liness. Women help their hushands with their accounts, andin many of the so-called masculine vocations without losing an iota of their woman- ly charm. There is no reason why a husband should be less a man because he occasionally as- sists his wife in her household duties. “Do you think it wrong for a wife to try to earn money? My husband’s salary just barely supports us,and I have hard work to get any clothes, even with the greatest possible economy. I could earn several dollars a week teaching music, but my husband objects, and claims that if I work it will be a reflection upon him and that he will consider that I have deliberately insulted ECORAICLOO© € SS C (0)