, 1873-08-03
, ho dragged to It olthor by ontroatJ or nocor-

to ho dragged To tt oithor by ontroatJ or nccon-
Btty,
,Fj,e gonoral tendency Of wivos-ln franco as
elsowloro-iB to rngnrd
HAPPINESS AS VESTED HIGHT,
as natural fact, rs n permanent condition, ns
soif. .n1lillcng, eolf-maintaining Bsato, which
onght to 90 on nnt last bocn,lso 1t haH onco be-
gun. Most Of tlem Violently. rovolt tho first
tmo they aro nhletl to own That married happt-
neHB nny be, on tile contrary, and ny its worry
oaannco, tho most orhonsoral Of all short-livod
creations. They tnko ma1l's lovo as d property
aud duo they fancy that it is tho husbantl's
dny to keep up Tint gs Sve Tth9ne any sca
loved, Int thoy do not holp love to last !; as
johnson said, = they. know how to mako notu,
but not how to mnko cagoa." In oaaos s1loh
rs thpsome3nd un1fortnnatoly thoy constl-
thoro @ Il Is snall hope ii ~ pormanont M f. contont-
mont; II tho husband is ignorant enough-as
indeed tho groator part of husbands REo-to
view tile case exactly ae tho vito docB-to
imagine TINT ho can leave the future to take
mutual satisfaction to struggle to its end, with
olenlcnte Of tho second net OF marrlod life then
ha reaches tho usual emptiness aud dianppoint-
an o4 ho
natural consequence Of matrimony. But II he
Is o thinking man, II lle has given aomo Of his
attention to a calculation Of the conditions noe
eaBary for tho conservation OF homo delight,
thon ho dooR illleed suffer II l0 finds himself
tied for oil lifo to woman who is incapable Of
helping him to attain, by mutual l1bor and
mutual watchfulnoss, tint rare but admirable
result t,-pormanont and incroaufng joy In mar
riago.
Ii franco t1oro nro certainly a good many
peoplo Who riBo to tho higher viows,-who look
on marriage as serious occupation, which ro-
q1ires absorbing tlought,-wlo coanelcssly on
deavor to improve it's form, and to lift Its conHo-
quonceB and It's products above tho Lowell Of hum
drum existonceH. And
OFTEN TuEg SUCCEED.
Now Huccoss, In sucll case impiioa TINT they
distill, from contnct with ench other, dogreo,
mn oloyntiou, thorougluosa, q perpetuity, and
roallty for happiness which loss a6!e and lesa
Of producing. They show US whit skill and aoi-
enco can elaborate from ordinary sourceB; they
show us tho height Of satisfaction to which wo
arc capable Of climbing, in tho relation botweon
man and vito, II We wili but regard that relntion
weed to be left to combat unaided for OK
givon in support d Of tits rough indioation N
OF wllat marriage may ho when 1t ls rightly TN
doratood. In tho Higher ranks Of French 3D.
ccioty there are men who morit to be called pro-
fessors Of tho nrt Of happineHs who have an
alyzod its Ingredients with careful fingers and
scrutinizing Dyes who lavo consummatod tnor
experience Of means nnd enda; who, like able
doctora can apply m Immediate remedy to tho
daily diflioultieB Of home ifo; whose practice Ia
worthy of their theory, md who provo 1t by
maintaining in their wiyeB' honrts and in their
Own perennial noyer-Weakentug sentiment Of
gratitude and love. But alas thoso casos aro
exceptions. Most French pooplo content tlem-
solyos, like their neighbors in other countries,
with rnmbling carolosBly through marriage, 1nal-
Ing no at.ompt to improve it, and not oven Hua-
pccting that It iB capable OF Improvement. Aud
yot, thanks to their light, laughing natures,
TSSyv thy S sehssey o ar eaoR o eIss 5 b e s5o eo
ness which is 80 frequently m attribute Of their
raco; they stavo OF worry by iusoncfanco; they
support annoyancos with coolneas which in
their case il not indifference, but which, to Al
1t, Tint it iB difficult at first 10 fix tho point
whore calm patience appears to end, aud in
difference seems to begin.
There are, however, contradictions In abund-
anco to this rule Of quietly supporting cares.
Erenchmen have sometimes In their character
posed to be tho property Of wonlon only, that
they aro capable Of growing tldgoty and uorvoua
to a scarcely crodible degree; and woe to tho
unlucky wife WHO stumblcB on a husband
toazing. Gentlo and afroctionato as tic
1nen ordinarily arc, there are somo among
thom who arc absolutely intolorablo at
homo. Luckily, thoy form an infinitely small
minority; otherwise 1t would be nonsense to
pretend that Fronoh marriages, on the whole,
aro happy. The evidence which. eau DO col.
lectod by listoning to opinions, including ILL.,
natured scandal III all its forms. tonds certainly
to show that, according to tho Impressions Of
each other, most Fronchrnen are Bingularly
FonBEAR1Na TOwAllpB THEIR WIVES;
they do not make the most Of them, effort
iy limited to tho rare examples which wcre al
lldod to just now,--but their habit Is to front
them with much eoftncss, with constant consid-
generally como together. in the origin, without
much passion, or, indeed, much love; tho con-
ditionH under which their marriages are arranged
nake TINT fact easily comprehensive; but 1oya
docs grow up between them in nearly every
csso and they eaa by feeling for eaeh
u.s. thorough, and Us doep, as NC find IL coup-
tries where othor Bystoms arc In nsa. It is far
from oasy to discover really unhappy marriages
in Franco; hero and there are isolated instan-
ed in voluntary separation; but tho testimony
Of society, and particularly Of tho women, who
arc not moro charitable towards each other in
France than they arc in othor lands, in no way
indicates any multiplicity Of failures. THO i'm
possibility of divorce creates strong motive for
mutual concoasions with the object Of soothing
away asperitios, and of rendering obligatory
companionship supportable, II not agreeable,
Az for absolute intldoiity, on either side,
IT IL NOW 30 RARE
that It ia often possible to look round largo
circle Of Intimate acquaintance without being
ablo to point out one example ofit. This assar-
group Of English people, which, though In total
fragrance Of tho faots, grows up, liyos} and diea
tion is strictly, literally true. Tho mar
riage-tie is vigorously felt in Franco;
Husbands and wives cleavo there
TO each other, and do not now seek for illicit
Joys, whaterer somo Of thom mny have done in
days gono by. Indeed, they point to England at
thiH moment as tho country which produces
palpably tho largest amount Of conlugal irregu-
larity, and quote in proof, with bitter Justice,
tho ahnmeloss dotails Of tho Divorce Court
which arc given in our newspapers. We have
grown accustomed to this odious publicity
habit binds ua to its dangers and it's ,ildacenoy
but II VIC could hear foreigners talk about It'll
wehnew tho impression OF disgust which it oro-
atos III Frauco where the rare casoa Of co-ro-
spondoncy are troatod crlminally, and arc al-
ways pleaded with closed doors whore llls-
bands do not receive money-danagoa for their
wife's dishonor--wo should perhaps be led to
recognize TINT, in this question, VIC do not offer
q satisfying spectacle to Europe, and TINT wo
have lost nll right to throw stoneh at othorB.
k73 3,3f,-