, 1877-11-02
Reason in Matrimony.

Love marriages are, as q rule, not so
successful as what the French call mar
ridges de raison. Poets, novelists, and
sentimentalists may write what they
please, but this is the result of hard, pro-
sale experience. Most girls thoroughly
realize it, and the worldly position of an
admirer is considerable element in the
amount of trouble which is devoted to an
attempt to hook him. And why nots Is
girl to wreck all her prospects in life
because a year or two after she is out of
the school.room she feels an uncontrol-
liable desire to marry some lad who can
not support herl This is, however, the
sound and practical view OF life present
ed in novels and plays. Down goes the
curtain so soon as the happy pair have
been joined together for the rest of their
existenc@ while this ''restn is left to the
imagination. Fortunately for girls they
are endowed with enough plain common
sense to see the absurdity of all this. But
although they act in the matter of mar
riage with wisdom, they feel themselves
obliged to pretend to agree with the i'm
practical trash of novelists and drama
lists. In France marriages de rGison pre-
vail. The girl who is to be married is
but little consulted about her future hus-
band, and unless be is absolutely repug-
nant to her the alliance is arranged, to
her perfect satisfaction, for her by her
parents. Yet French wives, as q rule,
have sincere affection for their hus-
bands. They feel that they have entered
into partnership for life with them.
Habit does the rest, and these marriages
are, with rare exceptions, happy. In
America the girl is left to pick and choose
her husband herself. She is as free as is
the married woman in the Old World, in
deed more free. From having to look
after her own interests she becomes alive
TO what they are, and while all American
marriages are termed love marriages, few
are contracted on basis of love without
any regard to more practical considera-
tons. In England girls are neither left
entirely to themselves nor are they, as in
France, placed, as regards marriage, un-
der the tutelage of their parents. The
consequence is that English girls some
times allow themselves to be carried away
by a passing feeling in favor Of a man,
marry him, and regret it ever afterward,
for they are pursued through life with the
idea that they might in all probability
have done better for themselves. My
moralis therefore, this: Let no girl fancy
that she is wise in making bad match,
because she imagines the former to be a
love match. Love is not affection. From
its very nature it is but temporary i'm
pulse,and In most cases singulary silly
impulse, which has become to be regard
ed as something almost divine, owing to
the absurd nonsense that poets and others
have written about it. When Miss Smith
takes 1t into her head that life is uneu-
durable unless passed as Mrs. Jones, there
is nothing TO be commended in her act
ipg upon this notion, and should she do
so and marry the impecunious Jones, she
will, probably, within year, when the
novelty Of Jones is worn of, sincerely re-
gret that she did not accept the offer of
the prosperous Robinson. A man who
has half million is in no way superior
70 man who has ten thousand, bat evil
dently,all things else being equal it would
be wiser To enter into u partnership with
the former than with the latter; and what
rs marriage but partnership for lifel 1t
Is really shocking that common sense has
not yet done away with the absurdity Of
supposing that two silly fools, holding
each Others hands, looking into each
others eyes, and feeling that they would
like to do this for the rest Of their natu-
raj existence, are a spectacle for men and
angels to admire. No; affection is all
very well, but it is just as easy to feel af-
lection for Jones as for Robinson. Elk.
cept as the result of q morbid and dis
eased Imagination, love at first sight does
not exist. Affection is lasting, while
love is normally but temporary aberra-
tion. Love may be toned down into af-