Marion Marlowe's Skill, or, A Week as a Private Detective — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

30 found him. A self-sustaining, self-supporting ‘fold maid’? commands the respect of every one, A life of comparative loneliness is far better than a loveless marriage. Celibacy is an honorable and often a praiseworthy state. A marriage based upon mutual love and esteem may be the happiest ealling for a woman, but itis quite pos- sible for a woman to be both useful and happy when these joys of life have passed her by or been voluntarily surrendered. ‘“‘Tam_a little in doubt upon a certain subject, and as [am all alone in the world, I ask you to advise me, dear Miss Shirley. I go out a good deal—some of my escorts treat me with respect and some of them are—— well, not quite as nice as they should be. I spoke to one of them about his actions, and he told me that a girl who rode to and from an evening party ina closed carriage ought not to object if her escort did hug and kiss her. Please let me know what you think about this. FRANCES B. W,”? We think that any escort who takes advantage of a closed carriage to thrust his attentions upon a young woman is a very poor escort for any girl to have, and we wouid advise that you do not go out with him again. The man that does not treat you with proper respect at all times does not value your society enough to deserve it. Cirecum- stances should not be allowed to influence actions and the girl who allows them to is lacking in womanly dignity, and the man who tries to per- euade her to do so is lacking in gentlemanliness and manhood. Do not go out with a man whom you cannot trust, and do not allow any man to induce you to lose one particle of your own self- respect, ‘(When two people love each other, should any one else be allowed to interfere? I am having a lot-of trouble with my family because I have be- come engaged to a young man, and they object to my doing so because Iam only sixteen years old. My betrothed is three years older than [ ana, and I think we are quite old enough to know our own minds. Don’t you think that they ought to leave us aloue? Kirtig T.”’ No, Kittie, we do not agree with you. Both you and the young manare too young to think of marriage for a long time yet. Wait until you have seen something of the world and of other men before you decide upon a partner for life. Your family are perfectly right in endeavoring to dissuade you from taking any such step, When you are ten years older you might think of mar- riage, but boy and girl matches are seldom suc- cesses. Ask the young man to wait afew years for you, and then if your and his affection re- mains the same you can sensibly think of wed- ding. “A friend of mine took me to the theatre last week and went out between every act. I spoke to him about it afterward, and he got quite angry ond said I was unreasonable. J did not think it was very polite or respectful myself, but IT know MY QUEEN. lots of men do it, so I thought I would write to you and ask your opinion. Please tell me what you think about it. VirGINIA B. H.” We think that the young man showed small appreciation of your society, and we would not yo out with him again, There are few sights more annoying than the streams of men leaving the theatre during the intermissions. If he wants your society at all it ought to be quite as agreeable to him when the curtain is down as when it is up. We have never been able to understand why so many women submitted to this sort of treat- ment tamely. If aman cannot live through the evening without a glass of liquor, he had better spend his time in a barroom instead of in a theatre. No man would think of doing sucha thing during an evening call, and we fail to see why he should not be quite as polite at a place of amusement. Sal « “T think a great deal of a young man whom I know, and at times I have thought he was not indifferent to me. Recently, however, he has been aimost cold in his manner, and it has made me feel very badly. How can I make him realize that I care for him and win his affection? “Mary A. G.” We would not adyise you to try to make this young man realize that you care for him. Never waste a single heart throb upon one who does not appreciate it. A woman’s whole capital is her love and affection, and when she pours out this rich treasure upon one who does not care for her she makes the gravest possible mistake. You were probably lonely and imagined that this man cared for you when he did not. The almost universal desire for a heart mate leads women to put false interpretations upon the ac- tions of any man with whom she is thrown in contact. Save your love and your comradeship for those who seek it and will valueit. Put this young man resolutely out of your thoughts and mind, and do not allow yourself to consider that he roused any — soft interest in your heart. “ “Please decide a question of etiquette for me. Tam engaged, but my fiance and myself try to make ourselves agreeable to other people just the same. Now, can 1 properly accept the escort of another gentleman to a ball? My fiance seems © to feel a little hurt at the idea, but he says he is willing that I should go with the other fellow if I think itisall right. If I do he will have to go alone and meet me there. Please answer this let- ter in the next issue of ‘My Queen,’ if you can, 80 I will know what to do. LeTtTiz H, P.” Your idea of making yourself agreeable to other people is a most sensible one, and we wish that more engaged couples had the same good sense, In the ease which you mention it seems to us that your fiance would be your proper escort, If you were married your husband would be, and — Eomichooks.;com