It is from Austria in great measure that our circuses secure their giants and midgets, and many other of the various “freaks,” objects of interest certainly, but hardly of pride.
Intellectually, we do not think that the statesmen of Austria, Spain, and Russia are the equals of those of France and the United States, while the English commoners have given a remarkable account of themselves.
We should be disposed to applaud the good sense of any rich young American who married a beautiful girl of poor but decent antecedents, in spite of the fact that such marriages depend upon unreasoning sexual attraction, like the great majority of marriages. As it is, we can only note the care Nature takes of a race, however heedless she may be of the individual.
DOES A STEPMOTHER MAKE A GOOD MOTHER?
Considerable Discussion Is Provoked by Vice-Chancellor Pitney’s Assertion That She Does Not.
Vice-chancellor Pitney, of New Jersey, passing on an application to have two children taken from their divorced mother and placed in charge of their stepmother, is reported to have said:
I never knew of a stepmother who was a good mother. There may be such instances on record, but I know of none, and I have had some experience.
Naturally, the Vice-Chancellor has been strongly controverted. Thus the New York World says:
The stepmother of fiction has a sharp face and a sharp tongue, and rarely misses an opportunity to wound sensitive young souls.
But the stepmother of fact is usually quite a different person. Certain individuals of scientific habits who have dabbled in the domestic relations believe that it would be better for most children if they could be brought up by stepmothers instead of mothers.