The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-04-20
CHAPTER XVIII.


Aunt Judy, or Mrs. LaSelle, as the
reader is now requested to call her, no
longer appeared to feel shadow Of in
terest in her ward.
Full of her own life, and that of her
husband, who was as lover-like as a
youth of twenty, the good woman laid
plans for furthering her newly-awak-
ened schemes for the increase of her
liege lords already ample worldly stores,
and was as Indifferent to Edna and her
children as she had before been solicit
tous and motherly.
The world can laugh love and lovers
to scorn as it may; men and women
yOked in wedlock who have never been
SO deeply infatuated with each other as
to destroy their better senses for a sea-
son, or while the fever of the honey
moon lasted, may deride it as they will;
parents who have never been thus be-
witcbed themselves, who see some
member of their household of children
who has erewbile been dutiful in all
things suddenly transformed into the
creature of some selfish and designing
suitor's will, may groan and lament the
loss of their jewels because they must,
but all the scorn, derision, and groaning
of all the ages has not altered the fact,
nor will it till the couples thus afflicted
run through with the disease, which,
like smallpox, Oftener destroys than re-
stores those who are the blind victims
of its ravages.
Sometimes love is like leprosy, fasten-
ing its virus in the veins of its victim
and lettering the subject for life to the
chains of a slow consumption of all that
was sparkling and hopeful in the better
nature previous to the attack. Rarely,
and owing to human ignorance, very
rarely, does it put forth buds that bios
som and grow into happy, healthy,
and golden fruitage. And yet, despite
the many mistakes that are made; de-
spite the fact that not one married cou-
pie in twenty is mated; despite the fact
that the appearance of harmony in
nineteen out of twenty homes is a delu-
sion painfully apparent to one or more
of the parties most deeply interested, il
not to all the nearest friends of the vic
Tins; despite the fact that men and
women who gave fair promise of intel
lectual and physical progress of higt
order prior to marriage are so Otter
known to deteriorate when under thu
bond, there is, after all, an underlying
principle of perfectness in the marriage
relation which will in time resolve it
self into something approximate to last
ing endurance, even for women. Blu
this will never be until it is the univer
sal rule that the party most deeply in
terested in the marriage contract shal
be the responsible arbiter, as she Ger
tainly is the responsible victim of con
jugal circumstances.
Women of experience are the onl,
mortals who should be entrusted wit
the making of marriage laws. Wome
when in love, and without the expert
ence that love brings in its train of con
sequences, are no better qualified to rul
the world of motherhood than are tn
present lawmakers, who know no NOR
of the needs of mothers than a goose ca
know of astronomical trigonometry.
Changed as Mrs. LaSelle had becom
through her new ENHANCEMENT, sh
was, nevertheless, thoroughly grieve
over the death of SoIon Rutherford.
was a great pity that she could not sc
the propriety of Edna's sudden resolv
to go on with her work at all hazard
That Edna had no time for and coul
not afford the luxury of grief was seen
ingly beyond her comprehension, an
yet, judged by all that Edna had know
of her in the years they had toiled Il
gether, it was passing strange that ST
had thus lost her senses. But this
the worlds way, and we, as a chronicl,
of life as it is, who work only in IL
hope that in so working we may do ol
part, if an humble one, toward bringiI
life to what it ought to be, must be col
tent to lay before the reader facts rath
than fiction.
81 disown Edna, Mr.. LaSelle 81
is no relative of mine % said the briC
of few days, pausing in the midst
hervery light labors in the rustic cabi
where the two were living as costly
newly-mated doves, and turning upc
him an earnest look of righteous resol
ton, as though the fiat of ages ls
within her power to WELD, and she W
ready, for once and all, to apply it
fullest force 20 everything concernil
Edna and John.
81 am rejoiced, my dear, to hear y
say SO sensible thing" replied b
husband, seriously. 'The greatest fe
had regarding our marriage lay in t