Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-09-02
Disparity of Ages in Marriage.

The marriage of a young lady with
gentleman some twenty years her SEN
Tor is very frequent occurrence; yet,
whenever such a marriage does take
place, there are always fifty people ready
to talk about the sacrifice, and to aver
that it is impossible she can love him
that she has only married for wealth
and position-and, i'll fact, that it is alto
gethershocking. Some blame her, some
pity her, some call her poor, dear thing,
and some designate her as "a shameless
creature:n but none ever give her credit
for love, affection or respect toward the
person on whom she has bestowed her
hand. This stereotype idea, that people
must be born i'll the same year to love
each other properly, is all nonsense. 1t
is on a par with the cruel father and
designing mother .hallucination-very
well upon the stage, but not applicable
to real life. For our part we think it is
just as possible for girl to fall i'll love
with middle aged man as with young
one. In fact, we think that they ale
generally twenty times more agreeable,
and often considerably handsomer. a
boy is only girl in coat and cravat. lie
thinks just as she does, has the same
interest in nothing, is just as delicate
and pretty, and about as reliable. A
man is something greater. If she has
any sense, she involuntarily feels it and
admires him. AS the best things ln-
prove as they grow older truly ADMIR-
able man must become more 50 as he
grows older; and if some women dis
cover this. it is ridiculous to Overwhelm
tt em with the same sweeping censu:c.
Of course, some women do marry for
money; but there are rich young men
as we'll as rich old men, and the mere
fact of difference in years does not
prove the assertion. Years alone do not
make the disparity between them it is
the heart, the brain, the soul, which
should be alike in marriage. Where
these are matched one with the other, a
welded pair is happy-otherwiseth eyare
miserable. In the beautiful passage i'll
David Copperiield," where, after long
and quiet suffering, Annie at last opens
her heart to her kind old husband, and
unveils her own truth with Jack NAL
dOn's teachings, she utters these words:
"there can be no disparity in marriage
like unsuitability of mind and purpose ~
and these words embody our meaning
better than all that we can say. 1t is bet
ter, certainly. foryOung people to marry.
It generally is the case; it is well and
natural. Yet love may be just as strong
with years of difference between the
parties, and the outer world has nothing
to do with it. We know as much Ofeach
others lives and purposes as we do OF
the man in the moon and why we
should forever take upon ourselves the
right of ascribing a motive, which suits
with our own ideas, to all our fellow
creatures actions, is to us a mystery
We are willing, for our part, to permit
even young beauty to unite herself to
middle aged millionaire, without
stating for a positive fact that she cannot
love him. Loves arrows are aimed ct
random-and if at times he pierces an
old and young heart at the same time,
there is little cause for wonder and sur
misses, and insinuatiOns are neither nee
essary nor delicate.