The Mineral argus., 1885-07-02

The desire of the Englishman TO
marry hi drcea ed wifc's sister j. one
Of the most marked phenomena of the
times. The deceased wife's sister bill
may he said To be his steady occupa-
ton. In all his breathing spells from
emergencies he turns to that. When
h. i, not being mas-acred by the South
Africans. or shaving Soudancse. or
lighting Afghans. or pacifying the
Irish. or being blown M in his tower.
h. is attending to the deceased wife
sister bill. He comes back to il out Of
all victories and defeats with unwa-
veriny pertinacity and courage. Ii
appears to be- the passion of his life to
marry his deceased wife's sister. We
who live in land where nobody OPP
poses such an alliance can not con-
ceivr the attraction il seems to have
to Enslshmen. And seeing how uni
vcr>al and strong this desire is in
England. we cannot but inquire why
the Englishman does not marry the
wife's sister in the first place. Why
does he go on marryin the wrong one.
and then wait for death or the law to
help him out?
II seems to US that much as this mat
ter has been agitated. it never has
been discussed in a philosophical spir-
it. We admit the fact of the Overnas-
tering desire to marry the deceased
wife'> sister: we can >ce how the pro-
hib,ion Ut the marriage increases the
longing for it: bu, we have not ana
lived the origin Of the desire itself.
1t ha, been treated IN England as a
question of morals. when it is. in fact.
a question of sociology. When We
come face to face with the question. j.
it not this: Does not the man generally
make Il mistake when he marries one
or two or more sisters? The world Of
ten sees it ut the time. the sister who
is left sees it. but the man Is blind To
what he is doing. lie not only takes
the one who doe, not make him the
best wife. but the one least eligible for
a life insurance. and so voluntarily, as
to bother the world with his deceased
wife'> sister bill. And the reason Of
this mistake lies a good deal in the ma
ture Of the man himself. but somewhat,
As we shall show. in the nature Of
woman also. He is so constituted that
he does not recognize the qualities Nee
cssary to make a good wife. lie is at
tracted by outward appearances.
Beauty goes for much with him. liveli-
ness counts for a good deal: even will
fulness before marriage) is attractive.
In nine cases on, If ten he will choose
the girl out of a hOuseful who is ut
once the pet and tyrant of the house.
the spoiled child. whose selii>hne>s
prOcures for her the slavish subScrvien-
CIV Of all the rest. Seeing all this de-
vOtiOn. he thinks he is marrying the
Queen Bee. We are intending to say
nothing against the woman he makes
hi, wife: AS women go. she is well
enough. and il the circumstances con-
tinued to be- what they were at home.
she wos,ld be forever attractive and
and adOred. But when she Is thrown
upon her own resources, it then be-
comes evident how much she owed to
her sisters. whose unObtrusive virtues
were the necessary background to all
her speciOus attractiveness, Nine cases
out OF ten the man will take the girl
of the family who knows the least
about cooking. or the management of
least patient in trial. and has the least
common sense-that is. the least Of
those everyday qualities that make
an agreeable pastime from hour to
hour and day to day. Hence. to cover
his own blunders. the clamOr for
deceased wife's sister bill
The man loves his wife-Of course
he does: even her faults. her little sell
fish demands upon him, are better in
his eyes than the virtues of other wO-
men. But when real life begins, and
the sister comes to live in the house.
as she pretty certainly will come. then
he sees who il is that makes life go
smoothly, who takes up the hundred
household burdens. who Is always
kind and patient. and especially indul-
gent to him-fOr the capacity of the
wife's sister to be indulgent to all the
weaknesses of her brOther-in-law is
one of the circumstances that we must
take into account in this investigation.
Her utter self sacrifice and ability to
come into confidential relations with
him. and to take his part against an
which he sometimes feels the
weight If. all the novelists have taken
note Of. Ii j. not she who keeps a
tight rein on him. He is not afraid of
her. She excuses him. and makes il
easy for him to get on with himself
And she has certain sterling qualities
that admirably supplement the love-
illness and attractiveness of the
wife. He feels this for q good while
without exactly seeing it or knowing
it, but when the great bereavement Of
his life comes, and the world is sud-
denly desolate to him. he comes around
with the deceased wife's sister bill.
Look at the world as it is. Consider
the capacity Of the sister for making