Tidbits from the Past

I'm doing genealogy research and have found that a portion of the newspapers throughout Florida have been archived at the University of Florida and are viewable online through their Digital Collection.

Currently, I'm looking through the 1899 Editions of The Florida Index, the weekly Lake City, Florida, newspaper at the time.

This excerpt is from Nov. 3, 1899.

This widower isn't dating. He is "running a preparatory department in society". He "hauls the girls about". That makes 'em sound like a sack of feed or something. I just wonder exactly which part of marriage he was preparing them for.