How to Marry your Daughters.

Hastings Standard, Issue 83, 1 August 1896, Page 4

How to Marry your Daughters.

An odious type of an old gentleman is sketched by Mr W. Pett-Ridge in The Windsor Magazine. He met, him in a railway carriage, where he was in conversation with a long youth with respect to the bringing up of his own daughters. He said : " You see girls in other families go and blunder into marriage before they've finished cutting their teeth almost. You don't find my girls like that. I don't mind telling you—you seem a fairly intelligent young man." He laid an emphasis on " seem," in order to prevent any idea that he responsibility. " I don't mind telling you in confidence that the plan I have is this. It's a very simple one. Say that I find some young fellow- walking home with them from church, or sending them books from Moodie's, or lifting hats a little too much to them when they pass. What do I do?" The youth opposite said he didn't know. " Why, I take the first opportunity of having five minutes' talk with that young gentleman. I take him by the coat button in a friendly way, a perfectly friendly way, and I say, ' Look here, sir, what the deuce is the idea of all this nonsense ? What does it mean, eh ? What are you driving at, eh'? Do you mean straightforward, prompt, and manly business, or do you mean only tomfooleryTijat's the way 'I talk to them. I'm a blunt, outspoken man, mind yon, and I don't mince my words. What's the result ? Why, simply this, that, having adopted that policy for a certain number of years, my girls are at the present moment as single as they were when —when they were born. One's thirtytwo and the other's thirty-four, and in a few years' time they'll be old enough to select husbands for themselves, and then " —he fluttered his newspaper—- " and then I shall wash my hands of ail the responsibility. All the responsibility. sir." The stout, florid gentleman sat back and frowned at the long youth. The long youth shifted uneasily, but said nothing. Being pressed, however, for an opinion, submitted respectfully * fct rough o& the giil& 1