THE RE-ENFORCEMENT.
An Incident in the Siege of the Alamo.
BY £DQAU MAYIIEW BACON.
Travis, "with his little company of Americans was holding the fortress against the
army of Santa Anna, led by Castrillon and Cos. A devoted Dand of young men, in
spired by romantic courage, cut their way through the Mexican lines and gained the
Alamo, only to die with its defenders. When the overwhelming force of the Mexi
cans finally overcame the little garrison only six of the Americans were alive to
surrender, but they were afterward killed on Santa Anna's orders.
See! what gallant horsemen ride
± rora the poplar's dappled shade.
In a swift, unswerving rank;
Fleet as Hows the crested tide,
Sun on belt and naked blade,
Empty scabbard at each flank?
' Now, Castrillon, hold your plaoe
Lest that wave's relentless flow
Sweep you from the trembling plain,
Perjured Cos, what hope of grace?
Ye who keep the Alamo
Wonder and rejoice again.
Crash! Brave steed and rider fall
In that hot, accursed hafl.
Kinging drops the nerveless sword:
Crumbling bends the advancing wall.
De.ith is guarding with his llail
Santa Anna's Mexic horde.
Cheer! They close their ragged line.
Cheer! Red spur to spur they ride;
Cheer! They meet the battle's brunt
And their keen blades brightly shine,
As with long unstaying stride,
Keep they still a steady front.
Like a froth the wind has torn,
Half to right and half to left,
Falls the Mexican array;
As a vessel, tempest-borne,
Dashing through the crimson cleft
The invaders held their way.
IB.LiKin.r^t.'Jim.gawnniMM—wMMMwnrmyUF." P'.Twra srpi
I A PERVERSION OF
I justice:.
fi D Y EDWARD DOEBON,
BraDßEECTEß*r2T]jcrTaKiKE^nrßiau* 1 * 2 ****:w^r-r-"23 irrr.iei'.iTßa^am ID H >,iwrzs&
THE man -wis in a reminiscent
mood. He was touched with
gray, and his eventful life was
filled with strange happenings
that afforded many an interesting tale
to those he honored with his reflec
tions and confidences.
We were seated in the sitting-room
waiting for the call to dinner. The
occasion was a family reunion, or, at
least, a gathering of as many relatives
as could be present. All the family
news had been told and discussed,
and a silence prevailed. It was then
that the man of reminiscences rplatod
one of his many unusual experiences.
"I do not believe uiueli in justice,"
he began, cynically. "At least I have
never seen It throughout my life. The
law is on the side of the biggest pocket
book, and the poor, often Ignorant, mail
who has the misfortune to have any
thing to do with either lawyers or the
law pretty generally becomes the
worse off for tho connection. How
ever, a caso of the perversion of jus
tice, in which I was mixed up, lias
Just occurred to me.
"Tho time was about twenty years
ago, tho placp was the village near
New Y'ork where I had my farm. A
heavy fall of snow had covered tho
roads, making them in some localities
Impassable. Wo had finished our
week's work and were preparing for
Sunday. Oliris Johnson, an illiterate
German, who could not speak English,
my farmhand, was told to go to the
village, about a milo and a half away,
for some supplies. He received two
dollars from mo and set forth 011 his
errand. It was about half-past nine
when 110 left tho house.
"He trudged along the middle of the
road, ivhero travel had packed the
snotv so that walking was not very
difficult. lie carried au old cane, a
keepsake from his father. When some
distance down the road lie hoard sleigh
bells behind him, and side-stepped into
deep snow for the vehicle to pass with
out turning aside. As the sleigh drew
near Chris, the driver swerved the
horse toward him, and beforo ho was
aware of danger, the fellow in tho
front snatched the cane from my man's
hand, grabbed him by the lapels of
his overcoat, and belabored him about
the head. He was stunned as a result
of the nssaylt, and his assailants went
through his pockets, tnking the two
dollars and a few cents which were
therein. They also took his hat and
cane, and drove off, leaving him lying
In the snow. Chris, however, got a
good look at the wielder of the weap
on. But if did not stand him in very
good service, whoa it should have
been of the greatest assistance in send
ing tile fellows to jail.
"My man soon recovered conscious
ness sufficiently to grope Ills way
home. lie stumbled into tho house
with Hood streaming down his face,
and with lumps on Ills head almost as
big as one's list. It was with some
difficulty that I got him to relate just
what had befallen him. He told mn
that the sleigh had large runners, and
that tho horse was white. That was
a good clew, as I had noticed such
n fuWcle, containing throe men bent on
having a hilarious time, traveling about
tbc vicinity for the past throe days.
Moreover, I had recognized these men,
nnd my suspicion was directed against
them. But my man was positive that
there were only two men engaged in
the assault upon him.
"Securing n revolver apiece, we went
over the trail made by the runners of
the sleigh. They left a very wide
track which we had no difficulty in
following. We saw where the men
turned in, where the horse stopped,
where the scuffle occurred, where one
got out and went through my man's
clothes, where they threw his body,
nnd where they continued their jour
ney. Wo then returned home, when
I cleansed Chris's wounds and dressed
his head, cautioning liliu to remain as
silent as the Sphinx about the assault.
I promised to do what I could for him
on the morrow.
"Early on Sunday morning, a clear,
crisp day, I began the search for In
criminating clews. The trail was as
On the fort deep silence fell
Over Travis's hero band.
No eye sought a neighbor's face;
Chained, as Ixy n potent spell,
Panting stoou they, steel in hand,
For a leaf-fall's tardy space.
Then rang out the plaudits deep
As upon the hither side,
Like a sunburst after rain,
From that fearful furrow leap
Horse and horseman, stride to stride,
Coining down across the plain.
Those who smiled, unmoved, at fate,
Dauntless in the face of death,
Men of iron—ran amain,
Shouting, to the fortress gate:
Laughing, sobbing, in a breatu,
When at length the troop drew rein.
From his post the leader came,
Met them with untidubled face,
"It was nobly done and great."
Then he added, smiling grave,
"111 the prize for such a race,
Help from San Filipe comes late."
"Life or death, what odds?" they cricu.
"We have ridden fast to-day
(Ask Almonte how we came)
Just to fight at Travis' sid<^
There is nothing more to savf
Room to die is all we claim."
—Youth's Companion.
fresh as though it had been just made.
While half way to the village I met an
old acquaintance, who facetiously com
mented upon my being out so early. I
told hint the story of the assault, which
brought from him the remark that he,
too, had noticed the trail left by the
wide runners of the sleigh. We com
pared notes and reached the conclusion
that the two assailants were no less
than the son ol' a nearby village hotel
proprietor and the son of a local hos
telry keeper. They were on a pro
tracted, vicious skylark, and, it seemed,
stopped at doing nothing that would
supply them the wherewithal to keep
it up. My friend, who was In n sleigh,
agreed to join me In a hunt for evi
dence against them. So, taking a
seat by his side, the horse's head was
turned toward the village.
"The first place wo visited was n
resort we knew the men frequented.
We were well known to the proprietor.
My friend remarked in a casual way
that the two men, mentioning them
by name, appeared to bo having a
groat time lately. The fellow replied
affirmatively, and volunteered the in
formation that they had dropped In on
him last night and carried on, some
what. After an exchange of pleasant
ries, which would leave no other Im
pression than that we had only an
ordinary interest in the actions of tho
men who had become our quarry, we
left the place and proceeded to another
resort some distance off, which wo
know to he, more or loss, their head
quarters. Entering, tho usual friendly
greetings wore exchanged with the
proprietor and the others there. Abid
ing the opportunity, I got mine host,
with whom ' I was well acquainted,
aside, and I laughingly remarked that
that was a groat game, to mention
names, Wilson and Clark, had played
last night. lie started quickly, then
smiled and slgnlflcautly said, 'So you
were in it, too, eh?' I replied, 'Yes,'
but I did not Inform him just how I
was In it. I then said that tho stolen
cane was a highly prized keepsake
from the victim's father, and gave my
hearer tho depression that I would
like to return it to the owner, who, I
had found, was a farm-hand. 'Say,'
1 snhl, in a confidential tone, 'what
did Clark do with tho poor fellow's
hat and cane?' The man hesitated a
moment, then lie replied, 'Clark broke
tlip stick In pieces and burned it with
the lint lu that stove yonder. I saw
him do It just before lie and Wilson
left here last night.' Cautioning the
man to secrecy, my friend and I soon
started for home, and on tho way
thltlicr we decided on a plan of ac
"We told Chris the result of our
sleuthing trip, and persuaded him to
accompany 11s to the 'Squire and swear,
out a warrant charging Wilson and
Clark with highway robbery and with
assault with Intent to kill, hoping that,
by making the charge as strong as
possible, wo would secure the punish
ment ol' the accused men. We did not
forget that their friends were all-pow
erful 'roundabouts. They were ar
rested 011 tho following day, and at
a hearing the 'Squire set a date when
the trial was to ho held. In the mean
time we made out a perfect case
against tho men, and were confident
that we could convict them. Alas, our
faith in human nature and Justice was
to ho rudely shaken!
"At last the day of the trial. My
man was sure that ho could identify
the person who assaulted him. My
friend and I were Interested in the
ease only to get justir for Chris,
whose confidence In us was almost
clilld-llke. We made the mistake of
not hiring a lawyer to look after the
Interests of Chris. The accused were
represented by well-known local law
yers, their friends packed the court
room, and even the 'Squire was a
close friend of tho prisoners' families.
Before tho case was called, and while
the accused men were within our sight,
t got my man, unobserved by any one,
to Identify tlie man who dealt him
the injuries. He made a perfect iden
-1 tlficatlon, and my belief that the prls
-1 oners would bo convicted was strongtli-
enetl. The case was called, the pre
liminaries were gone through, and
then Clirls was requested to Identify
the man who assaulted him. I watched
him nervously, ub I saw that the man
ho wnnted had seated himself in a
chair and had burled his head behlud
a paper. In fact, he was the least
conspicuous person In the room. Chris
glanced around and a look of disap
pointment overcome his features. Again
he surveyed all present, and to my in
tense astonishmentpolntod ton man who
somewhat resembled the accused, and
said, 'There ho is!' Clark then dropped
"the paper from his face. Chris threw
his hands up excitedly and exclaimed,
'My Got, I haf made mistake! It is
he!'
"Then the 'Squire took a hand in
the proceedings. 'That won't do,' he
said to Chris. 'You have upon your
oath identified this man (pointing to
the innocent stranger) as your assnil
nnt. Now we shall see whether you
have made a true identification.' At
this point my friend and myself, as
being witnesses in the case, were or
dered from the court-room. Not know
ing the law then, and thinking that a
trap had been set for my man, we
refused to go. Whereupon the 'Squire
gave orders to the constable that if we
remained in the room during the hear
ing ho was to arrest us for contempt
of court. We decided to retire, but
fully expected to be called as wit
nesses. We left Chris, who could not
understand English, to face a hostile
crowd alone. An interpreter was pro
vided, but he twisted the replies in the
favor of the prisoners. The rulings
of the 'Squire, too, were such that the
evidence of my man was declared in
competent.
"Woll, we had watted outside for
an hour when Chris appeared with a
very dejected countenance. 'Well,' I
said to him, 'ls it our turn now?" He
shrugged his shoulders. 'lt's over.
Made me sign paper know nothing
who robbed me. Gave nie $2.70, but
my cane gone for ever!' Wo realized
what tlioy had done. Chris had signed
a deposition absolving the prisoners
of any complicity in the highway rob
bery, and ho had received a paltry
sum of money to compensate him for
(lie amount taken frbm him. The
'Squire,' whose duty it was to adminis
ter the law Justly, had compounded a
felony. A wilful perversion of Justice
had resulted, but I don't know but
what our ignorance of the law was
partly responsible therefor. The evi
dence should have been presented for
the consideration of the Grand Jury,
who, had it been sufficient, should have
Indicted the two men accused. The
'Squire really had no Jurisdiction over
the case.
"My man, however, thought that my
friend and I were In league with the
others, and all that we did was for
the purpose of clearing the men of
the grave charges of highway robbery
and assnult with Intent to kill. Our
desire was to befriend Chris. He never
had the same faith In me, and very
shortly left my service. Wilson be
came a prosperous hostelry proprietor
nearby. As for Clark, two months
later ho was appointed a constable by
the 'Squire. A number of burglaries
'which aroused tlio neighborhood were
proved to the satisfaction of a few
citizehs to havo been committed by
Clark during his rounds in the per
formance of his duty. They knew,
however, that his trial and conviction
wore Impossible; as his friends were
all-powerful, and that persecution
would be the reward for any action
they might take with that object In
view. Not long ago Clark, who had
remained constable, died a respected
citizen, and at his funeral he was eulo
gized as a faithful public olllcer. But
my faith In human justice received a
mighty jar."
An Eiigle Drowned by Its I'rey,
A colony of American eagles has
made its home along the shores of
Chautauqua Lake for many years. A
story is told of one of these birds which
Is verified by Sir. and Mrs. Charles
Dykeman, who reside <tu Bayfield
farm, who witnessed the Incident, that
13 truly remarkable.
Tho eagle was gracefully soaring
over the lake when it suddenly darted
with lightning rapidity toward the
water, catching in Its talons a musk
allonge two feet or more in length and
weighing probably ten pounds. There
was a clash and a splashing of fins and
feathers, but slowly the bird rose in
the air with it 3 captive dangling and
wriggling below. When at a height of
about 1000 feet the bird, still clinging
to the fish, began to sink slowly toward
the lake again, gaining speed as it de
scended, and finally fell with a splash
in the wnter. Later the bird and fish
were found together dead.
The fish had evidently been too heavy
for the eagle to carry, but its claws
were so firmly Imbedded in the flesh
that it could not release its hold, and
as its strength gnve way it Sank into
the water whence it had sought its
prey and was drowned.—Buffalo Cour
ier.
Tho Itnllronrta of tho Country.
The following interesting figures per
taining to railroads are gleaned from
tho report of the Interstate Commerce
Commission:
Returns cover 105,000 miles, or about
nlncty-elglit per cent of the total.
Passenger earnings, .$472,429,165, for
the year ending June 30 last.
Freight earnings represent $1,200,-
854.G03.
Gross earnings represent SS73G per
mile of line.
Operating expenses represent $5045
per mile of line.
Not earnings were S3OOI per mile of
line.
The total Income of the above roads
was $088,331,287.
Tho dividends paid, Including rent
als of leased lines, aggregated SIS(V.
735,784.
OVERFED PETE.
Dogs and Cats Spoiled l>y Appetite For
Pnuatural Tidbits.
Possibly the dog world might afford
a better specimen of a living skeleton
titan one in the kennel next to the
door of a boarding place for animals,
but It would take a day's Journey to
find him.
"What' makes liim so thin?" was
asked of the attendant.
"He won't eat," was the reply. "That
is, he won't eat hospital food. He's
been spoiled. Lots of dogs and cats
that are brought here have been
spoiled. Their owners think it a sign
of high breeding to cultivate an appe
tite for a peculiar and n'n unnatural
diet. They train animals to cat all
kinds of food that they would never
touch of their own volition. This ema
ciated fellow has been taught to like
fruit. lie is particularly fond of pears,
but in case he can't get them, peaches,
apples and bananas are a fairly satis
factory substitute. Unfortunately his
present ailment makes a fruit diet ex
tremely dangerous, and since he is de
prived of his favorite food, lie is liter
ally starving himself to death.
The attendant passed on to a neigh
boring cage and poked his finger sport
ively into the side of a large gray cat
that "meowed" plaintively in response
to his cheery "Hello, there Caesar."
The cat had such a healthy, wholesome
appearance that the visitor inquired
what meat he was fed upon. "Humph!"
said the attendant. "You've missed it
there. He doesn't feed upon ment.
He's a vegetarian. He likes onions bet
ter than anything else, unless It's mel
ons. A good many cats like melons,
and most of them are also partial to
raw asparagus. The fact is, yeu might
run through a list of all the dishes that
find a place on an up-to-date menu and
you find that some of our patients have
acquired a taste for them. This epi
curean appetite may denote aristo
cratic tendencies on the part of my
boarders, but I don't approve of it.
Most of these acquired tastes are a
perversion of natural animal appetite,
and it is likely to prove harmful in
the end. The trick Is pretty expen
sive for us fellows that run cat-and
dog boarding houses, and I'd like to
put a stop to it."
Itleßseiißcr Coy*' Queer Jobs.
"Jaggers's" famous trip to the United
States at the behest of Richard Hard
ing Davis is recalled by the mission of
another London messenger boy, who
Just has been sent off post haste to
carry a bottlo of medicine to Aix-les-
Bains. Probably the urchin wasn't
especially surprised by the novelty of
his errand, for he and his kind have
so many quaint commissions that they
must by this time have grown accus
tomed to them.
It was not so long ago that an Eng
lish banker sent a messenger boy over
to Paris to pay a bill. Another "Jog
gers," as they are called now, was
hurried out to buy toys for a foreign
potentate, while still another had to
send election results to a German
Cabinet Minister. The Duke of Saxe-
Coburg hired a messenger boy to field
his tennis balls. Other boys have taken
Indian noblemen to the theatres, and
helped ladies of title at fashionable
bazaars. When a boy gets a call he
can neyer tell whether he is summoned
merely to take a puppy out for a walk,
or to embark for San Francisco. Oc
casionally lie has to wheel a baby car
riage containing a much-protesting in
fant or go to a railway Junction to feed
a-pet cat which is on a Journey and
see that it makes Us proper "connec
tion."
Boys have to act as guides to foreign
ers, take children to board-school,
aliaperon women and wait at tables.
There are cases on record where tliey
have had to nurse sick people, lead
the blind and even take charge of
lunatics.—London Correspondence New
York Press.
New Use For Electricity*
The workmen in the great electric
power houses have a use for electricity
to which the attention of physicians
might be called. This use was exem
plified in a striking way the other night
in one of the uptown houses.
One of the workmen hobbled in on a
crutch. The foot tjnit he did not walk
on was wrapped In a white towel.
"I got a needle in her," he explained.
He went over to one of the big dyna
mos, sat down on the floor of concrete,
bared his wounded foot and then ex
tended it to the current.
"I ran this needle in this morning,"
he said, as he §at waiting. "It disap
peared somewhere or other. I couldn't
find it; the doctor couldn't find it; I
thought I'd let the current see if it
could find it, the snme as the other
fellows do when they get needles lost
inside 'em."
The man waited. Five minutes, ten
minutes passed. Suddenly his foot
twitched and lie gave a grunt of pain.
The lost needle, drawn forth by the
power of the current, protruded a half
inch from his instep. lie readily drew
it out the rest of the way with his
fingers.—Philadelphia Record.
Mormon-Grown Cotton In Utah.
"Nobody looks on Utah as a cotton
raising State, and yet there is a Mor
mon settlement in our State that has
engaged In its production for at least
a quarter of a century," said G. C.
Townes, of Salt Lake City. "The scene
of this industry is in the extreme south
western part of Utah, and not only do
these Mormons produce the raw mate
rial, but they have for years been con
verting it into thread aud cloth. Their
factory is the quaintest thing in the
shape of n mill I ever saw. It was
built at a time when material was
scarce, and In its construction there is
not a single nail. Wooden pegs alone
were utilized, but so cleverly was the
work done that the building is stand
ing to-day in as solid condition as the
day it was btdlt"—Chicago Journal,
Smallpox and Jenner.
By C. E. A. Wlnslow.
MALLPOX lias been so held In check by vaccination that Its horror
Sis forgotten, and the number of thoughtless and misguided persons
who are to-day unvnccinated threatens a serious menace to the
public health. Twb hundred years ago every one had smallpox,
® rst or as children have measles to-day, those who escaped in
•iviivi' | one epidemic being almost certain to sicken in the next. From
palace to hovel none were safe but those who had gone throngl!
the disease and recovered. ,
It has been made evident by calculations from the Bills of Mortality of the
City of London, renowned for medical science, that at the beginning of the
eighteenth century about one-fourteenth of the inhabitants died of smallpox,
and during the last thirty years of that century, when the practice in smallpox
was highly improved, the mortality of this disease had augmented to one
tenth.
Medical skill and sanitary science were of no avail, until a village doctor,
Edward .Tenner, suggested the practice of vaccination, which seemed at the
middle of the last century to be "the greatest physical good ever yet given by
science to the world." It hnd long been observed among the dairy folk of Glouces
tershire that a mild eruptive disease of cattle, known as cowpox, could be com
municated to human beings, nud that those thus affected were protected
from subsequent attacks of smallpox. Jenner conceived the idea of applying
this preventive inoculation with the cowpox on n lnrger scale; he tested its
efficacy by careful experiments, and finally succeeded in convincing scientific
men and the intelligent public that the dread disease could at last be con
quered. All over the civilized world the new prophylactic was eagerly adopted,
and everywhere it was followed by an abrupt decline in the smallnox deatl*
rate.-—Atlantic Monthly.
JS? <
The Good Old Times—
No Complex Life Then
ly J. T. Trowbridge.
H O my parents set up their simple housekeeping, and passed, I
have no doubt, their happiest days—days as happy, very likely,
as any their children or numerous grandchildren or great
jj ~n . J grandchildren have enjoyed, in the stress of a more complex
H " H civilization. She sang at her work; his axe resounded in the
B 9 forest. He made a clearing, and planted corn and beans and
i 9 potatoes among the stumps. Tliolr first child was horn in
H fl t l lnt j nit Ti,<? clearing grew, and before long a larger, well-
Jt built house replaced the primitive cabin. This more sub
stantial house had one large room on the ground floor, about
■ twenty feet square, u low-roofed chamber, to which access was
had by a ladder, aud in the course of time a "linter" (leau-to) addition. TiiTfc
"llnter" was framed, but the main part was built of logs. These were hewed™
on the Inside, and the cracks between tliein filled with a plaster made of clay.
The filling was liable to crack, and It was necessary to patch the broken places
every fall. This was called "chinking up the bouse." and it made n happy
time for the older children (1 had not yet appeared on the scene), there being
always some of the moist clay left over which they could use in making cups
and saucers for their play-houses, and other ornameuts. The floor was of
dressed chestnut plunks, the beautiful grain of which was kept scrupulously
clean and smoothly polished. At one end of the room was a huge stoue fire
place,' with great iron andirons, aud Iron shovel and tongs in the corner. In
the "linter were the spare bed with its white counterpane, a tall brass-handled
bureau, and our father's large oaken chest, with its complicated tills, always
a marvel to the younger children, who would run aud peep wouderiugly when
ever he went to open it.—January Atlantic.
<£? JZ?
Modern Ideals of Womanhood
By Edward Howard Griggs.
■HE new ideal is the largest possible freedom for woman. Now, I do
Tnot mean that she is to rush lu and do all the things that men are
doing, hut that it is believed that every arbitrary restriction and
artificial limitation must be removed. If, then, she takes up what
she finds she cannot do, she will learn her limitation in that direc
tlon and take up something else. In continuance of this belief and
f-JJJ iu the same spirit we demand equal pay for equal service for men
and women.
It is a misfortune—it is an evil—that nine out of ten of our tcach
, crs are women. Not because they are not good teachers—for they
are—but our children need the masculine influence just as much as they need
the feminine influence. They need to associate with both men and women
in getting their education- The qualities of each are necessary to the propel*
rounding of their character. The question is, Why do we get well trained and
gifted women for our schools aud not an equal number of equally well trained
men? And the answer is that the former come for less money. So there will
he no change in ibis situation until there is equal pay for equal service.
To achieve the highest, men und women must he of equal nobility of char
acter, for that union is dependent upon the deepening of the content of the
individual, of the personal spirit. In socialism this is often forgotten. Perfect
union in marriage also demands tills, and yet such deepening of the content
gives an added susceptibility to suffering. But if the basis of union be strong
enough to pull the two natures together, the larger the difference the stronger
•the union. So men who have progressed the furthest have gained certain of tlsjT
gentler feminine qualities and demand a eorrespondiug gain in masculine qual
ities in the women of their choice, the gain operating in the one case toward tlio
more perfect manhood und iu the other toward the more perfect womanhood,
and thus increasing the differentiation.
Til® Advantage to a
Girl of Having Brothers
By Marion F. Mowbray.
r is h" indisputable fact that the girl who grows up with
™ plenty of brothers lias a great advantage iu knowing and uu
f| „ vj derstnuding men when she arrives at years of discretion,
fe J ffhß What is more important, such a girl is much more com-
Jk. g pardonable to a num. If young meu exercise any thought
I) W when choosing their sweethearts they cannot do better than ,
I ji select a gill with brothers. j
B a The girl who has lacked brothers in her early life does no^
ggj. ugo( i t 0 that untrnmmeled attitude toward men which is u
second nature with the girls who are brought up ill a houseful of boys. In
deed, tomboyism in a young girl is perhaps the best education which she can
have in the days of her girlhood.
There is a give-and-take attitude in the girl who has brothers, something
more than a possible feeling of comradeship, aud the certain knowledge that,
because a man pays her some attention, it does not follow that he means
marriage, or lias "serious intentions," to use the words which old-fashioned
mothers apply under such conditions. The girl, on the other hand, who has
not had brothers, translates any civility as having an ulterior motive, especially
if she is not quite so young as she used to be, and hopes to be married, for we
know how often the wish is father to the thought. Then, anxious that the
man should not see that she has any such idea, she at once endeavors to hide
her thought. To do this, she adopts an unnatural attitude, aud, so far from
concealing iter idea, she shows her band.
"For a boy nothing matters;" you are almost certain to hear the expression
in nearly every bouse you go to. With the girl children everything matters.
If a little girt is going out to see a friend, she has her best dress and her best
hat put on even before she has begun to know that there are such things in the I
World as best hats and not best hats.
Then, again, there is undoubtedly a sort of Insincerity in the education of a
girl. She is told she must not be this, and must be that, if she wants to please,
until in time it becomes second nature to her, and before she dees anything she
begins to calculate what the result will be.
Now the girl who is brought up with plenty of brothers, some older and
some younger than herself, will have a chance to correct the defects of her edu
cation. If she has any sense she will learn to avoid these faults.
She will Insensibly acquire a pleasant, companionable manner with men,
and she will know that they do not like stiff, self-conscious young women.