monial pageant, the man is the most obscure member
of the procession. People are not apt to think of him at all until the
ceremony is over and the girl has a new name. What he wears is of no
consequence, and he has no wedding gifts, though he may be remembered
for a moment if he gives a diamond star to the bride. Yet it is this
ceremony which changes him from a vassal to a king. Before marriage he
is a low and useless trump, but afterward he is ace high in the game.

[Sidenote: A Trip Down Town]

A latter-day philosopher has beautifully likened marriage to a trip
down-town. A man leaves the house in the morning, his mind already
active concerning the affairs of the day. His newspaper is in his
pocket, he has plenty of time to reach the office, and his breakfast has
begun to assimilate. Suddenly he sees a yellow speck on the horizon.

He calculates the distance to the corner and quickens his pace, his eyes
nobly fixed meanwhile upon the goal of his ambition. Anxiety develops,
then fear. At last he surrenders all dignity and gallops madly toward
the approaching car, with his coat tails spread to the morning breeze
and tears in his eyes. Out of breath, but triumphant, he swings on just
as farther pursuit seemed well-nigh hopeless.

Does he stop to chat cheerily with the conductor? Does he dwell upon the
luxurious aspect of his conveyance? Does the comfort which he has just
secured fill his heart with gladness? Does the plush covering of the
seat appeal to his aesthetic sense? No mere woman may ever hope to know,
for he grudgingly gives the conductor five pennies, one of them badly
battered and the date beaten out of it--and devotes himself to his
paper.

[Sidenote: The Masculine Mental Process]

The thing which appears unattainable is ever desired by man. A girl who
wears an engagement ring upon her finger has a charm for which the
unattached sigh in vain. The masculine mental process in such a case,
briefly summarised, is something like this.

I. "Wonder who that girl is over there? Red hair and quite a bit of
style. Never cared much for red hair--suppose she's got freckles too.
Now she's coming this way. Why, there's a solitaire on her finger; she's
engaged. Well, he can have her--I won't cut him out. Wonder who she is!

II. "Really, she isn't so bad--I've seen worse. She knows how to dress,
and she hasn't so many freckles. Brown eyes--that means temper when
associated with red hair. Must be quite a little trick