MODERN ROMANCE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21958, 9 May 1941, Page 8

MODERN ROMANCE

HE “POPPED THE QUESTION” UNDER FIRE • War-time leads to a number of proposals of marriage taking place in unusual circumstances, writes Adrian Grand, well-known London journalist. One young newly-wed whom I questioned recently told me tlfat her husband asked her to marry him while they were being machine-gunned in France. “We were making for the coast," she said, "and had to hop out of our car and lie flat by the side of the road. As wd' lay there, with bombs bursting near by, and bullets striking the ground all round us, Jack asked me to marry him. I said ‘Yes,’ and he just grabbed my hand, and there we lay, smiling at each other. Queer, isn’t it—and so different from anything I’d imagined.” Other women have told me that they wish men would consider the romantic side a little more, and not make their proposals so matter-of-fact. Least of all, make them under really adverse conditions. “You wouldn’t believe it," said one young wife, “but my husband proposed to me when he had a dreadful cold. His eyes were red, he kept sniffing and sneezing, and when he had asked and been accepted, he added, ‘You’d better not kiss me, dear, or you’ll catch my cold.’ “Poor dear, he couldn’t help it—but why on earth did he have to choose that most unromantic time to pop the question?" One very attractive girl—unmarried —told me she might have been wed if she had been asked properly. The place and time were perfect, she confessed, but the declaration was not. “He took my hand and looked into my eyes—and said, of all things, ‘Gil, I’ve decided to marry you.’ I think it was the blunt statement without any reference to me, which made me reply, •That’s a pity, because I’ve decided to refuse you.’ And it was a pity, because I was quite fond of him,” she added with a sigh. One other propsal I was told about concerned a couple swimming at the seaside one fine summer. As they swam out to a raft, the man popped the age-old query. “Doris”—gasp—“will you”—gasp — “marry me. darling?’ “As I said ‘yes,’” the girl revealed, “a big wave slapped ffie in the face, but my answer must have been obvious, for Bert let out a yell of joy and grabbed me Of course, we both sank, and in no time at all we were surrounded by would-be rescuers who cheered us when we told them the truth.”