"THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME."

Northern Advocate, 15 December 1916, Page 4

"THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME."

(By Herbert A> YOld'hiiin. Wnipti)

Tlu> " waiting; mothers" have had lavished upon theni aii abundance of sympathy, moral and material. Oriiti'-rs and journalists, timber", and ivi in inters, have thorn a subject the mention of which always "U!jdued enthusiasts'— : a!iu rightly. Widows —bijth temporary and permanent —are offered consolation and assistance; but what of the girls? Some of us have reached an age when, in the sorrows of the we forget the. aiiglUSu and tribulations oi 1 otir youth-, but capacity for suffering is not to be measured by age; it is riiore a matter of breeding, temperament and circumstance; and with us here, at K*»»***?j to-day, are hearts ar. sore depressed and mca'iVus as that of many a "waiting mother." She goes about her duties as usual—the girl who stood not long ago upon the wharf and saw the face (the one in all those hundreds) go mistily into tlu , .li<<Hivc<\ a!-, uio i great ship drew away. That the hasty engagements and ill-considered marriages due to the war are producing sorrow and disappointment is knowil to all of us, but these are not common amongst bilth iitnl triiiiving have placed them where the restless disregard of consequences is believed to be a shameful thing and affairs pertaining to the affections are not treated with vulgar levity and carelessness, No sympathy is required for the young woman of the blatant, "loud," or "hard" variety, m-Ii» st'os in the

volunteering excitement an Opportunity to "collect" rings, and J»r;i*'ok'ts, vanity tshjjp Hiid lollies! Whrt is bOidiv "engaged" to a hoy in each reinforcement, and receives a useful inromc in deferred pay. Not t» yo.jHtr wom»-h nf this ciasft <l*t look for tho future mothers of our ruce, and the best of our troops give such unwomanly creatures a wide berth. I very much doubt if a soldier, poiiig io the front, is showing his love for the pirl of his choice in marrying her during the war. Even supposing that, as a widow, she will be amply provided for; even if she is free from the anxieties of motherhood, her prospects of happiness, as a widow, are loss than otherwise, and, should'a child be her care, the encouragement and support, the help and advices of a husband being- lost, her future and that Of the child cannot be happily anticipated. "Poor Harry! ije may never come back, so we are to be married nest month " You soft-hearted little featherhead. Consider the future. Not only Harry's but your own—and maybe one other! "Dear Jack! He may be shot, and ['11 get a pension anyway." Now Jack" what is a girl like this worth to you when you return—as 1 hope, dear boy, you will? Do you think she will make a true and loving companion.' I will tell you. She will not. The boy who says "wait," is a man. The girl who says 'wait," is a heroine. And there are hundreds of her type to-day. She is writing letters, packing parcels, knitting socks, teaming more about fancy cooking and tobacco than many old married women, and building castles in the air for the days when he returns. What a day that will be. Think of it! All the daily anxiety and weary waiting, fully-re-warded! Sunshine after rain.

Be assured tint the real good fellow, unselfish, thoughtful, prepared always to put himself aside for your" benefit, will go to iig.ht with an easier mind and more courageous spirit, knowing tluU you are no prospective widow, but watching, waiting, hoping, trusting, faithfully, at honu>, to be his great reward, The real worth of anyone is unknjwh withmi' trial. There is no greater test of worth than the test of faithful patience, and for those who are exhibiting this quality, every sympathetic consolation possible must be too little. Love is a strange, mysterious thing. Those who understand it best say least. For those who treat with ribaldry und laughter the hunnn emotion- which even St. Paul diseticoed with reverence and reserve, onf> can only fed the linlf-conteniptuous •iky whi:-h such coarse nal ".res scoiu to merit. As Hi- V r action;; air. sv-h shall their \y\ 1 pray all D b,. -o-<! T.i the "Girl 1 Loft Be'iir.d .Me." From what I know of the marriageable girl o!' to-day. I d.) not thin-:

one can evtike her interest by a dry discussion of tlio "Fall in the Birthrate and its effect upon the Nation;" but the mother.instinct is not lost, and the mention, or thought, of ;t baby, with ir« rosebud nioutii, Ktnull )>ink feet, and lu'lpless, gTiijiiiis; , , ciiu'jiu' hamh-. brings to the ('ace o!' ;.he hardest j-'' , ]!' playing, ;;iuar. ette-smoking human in pettico.its a softer expression, a mildness to the eyes, which show that the foelins —old as the race —is there. Mrs Fankhurst has recently said that sin , has, since the war; nml'Tston;! mor' ; ly that a mail iis a man, and a woman a woman. Happy is the girl who realises the full duty of her womanhood. For many years young lion have encouraged girls to h" "|i:ih(,'' cuhi.ianions, equals — substinuinu; these terms for the unfashionable and archaic "help-mate;" and the pa!dom" has been held to include an equal share in most sports and many "manly" dispositions. A nhin ! .v 1 io has 1 iv*-11 witll throughout the w.t: , will appreciate something much unlike himself on his return, and I can imagine, as one of the results of the war, the disappearance of tin , loiig-tolerared, of!>nsivc- bi-iiiK in skirt*, who is ito-hI of her ape-iiK'e imitation '>f her brothers. Once, travelling, milward bound from England, ! had as I'd'ow \r,\ascngfr a young lady, recently mar. rierl. the wife of a sailor. Her child had been born after the departure of her husband on a long voyate. She sailed from Kngland, with her baby, to meet her husband in Australia, only tO fliliCOVi'i , , ;!i (!!]<■ Of file IH'ftS d f Cclll, thar tin- father had sailed iii iiie same motitii to meet hi? wife. The liners, in directions, met in niiil-ii.-caii. iJojii \'e>;sc!s wYiv slowed down, and brought as nearly together as a heavy sea would safely aijuw, T]if ynnng mother and her baby were taken up to the. bridge, and her husband appeared upon the bridge of the other ship. The baby was held aloft for the father to inspect it, .(through marine binoculars.) and, poor chap, he sai;j something indistinctly (through a speaking trumpet),

the engines speeded iiji; there, were salutes and wavings, and the incident ended. But! When the n;:r_iier descended from the bridge, o:i her way to her cabin, al! heads were turned asidf; \U v all sixike in hushed voices; old ladies wiped tiieir tyes; old geiulemen remarked that the wind was keen for the time of year, and biew their noses noisily; and the young girls? Do you think they laughed? No; for those few minutes they were mothers, everyone of them, and unshod tears were in their eyes, and *>"v':t)il H-alked quietly away to cornel's by themselves, white faced and silent. 1 never saw a baby more overwhelmed with affection than the child was for the remainder of the voyage ■'bah'-ovpliaivd for perhaps, another four mouths. N.> population statistics; no wooer, young or old, ugly or handsome, can move the heart of a girl, as does a baby. 1 hope there will soon be thousands of them, but I also hope that they will not be fathpi'U-ss. It is for the "Girl 1 Left Behind .Me" to decide iio\v Urn risk is lessened or increased. My advice is —Wait.