Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-09-04
DECEASED WIVES SISTERS.
fhiioSophic Discussion Of Topic Whic!
Interests British Husbands.

~ his deceased wife's sister is one of
the most marked phenomena of the
times. The Deceased Wife's Sister bill
may be SD TO be his steady occupation.
In all his breathing spells from emer-
gencieS he turns TO that, When he is
not being maSSacred by tie South Afri-
cans. az staying SoudaneSe, or fighting
AfghanS, or pacifying the Irish, or be-
ing blown up in his Tower. he is attend
ing TO the Deceased Wife'S Sister bill
He comes back 10 il out of all victories
and ali defeats with unwavering peril
nacity and courage. II appears 10 b
the passion of his life 10 marry his de-
ceased wife'S sister, We who live in
land where nobody opposes such an al
lance can not conceive the attraction il
seems to have 10 Englishmcn. Aud
seeing how universal and strong this
desire is in England. we can not but in
quirc why the EngliShman does not
MARRY the wife's sister in the first place,
Why does he go on marrying the wrong
one, and then wait for death and the
law to help him out9
Ii seems to us that. much rs this
matter has been agitated, il never has
been discussed in philosophical spirit.
We admit the fact Of the ovormaStering
desire to marry the deceased w.te'S
sister; we can see how the prohibition
of the marriage increases the longing
for it; but We have not analysed the
origin of the desire itself. 1t has been
treated in England As question of
morals, when it is, in fact, question
of sociology. When We come face to
face with the question, is il moi his;
Does not the man generally make u
mistake when he marrieS one or two or
more sisters? The world often secs il
1T the time. the sister who is left secs il,
but the man is blind to what he il
doing. He not only takes tho one who
does not make him the best wife, but
the one least eligible for lifc-inSur-
ance, and SO voluntarily. as one may
say i'll the end comes round 10 bother
the world with his Deceased Wife Sister
| bill And the reason of his mistake
| lies Il good deal i'll the nature of mSn
himself, but somewhat. aS we shall
show, i'll the nature of woman also,
He is So constituted that he does not
recognize the qualitiN, necessary 10
make good wife. He is attracted hH
outward appearances. Beauty goes for
much with him; liNclineS> counts FOR \
good deal; even wilfulnrSS (hefore
marriagel is attractive. In nine eases
out of ten he will choose the girl out of
a houscful who is At once the pet and
the tyrant of the house. the spoiled
child, whose ScltishncsS pro2urcS for her
the slavish SubScrvicncy ~ all the rest.
Seeing n this devotion, he thinks he is
marrying the Queen Bee. We are in
tending to say nothing against the
woman hr makes his wife; rs women
90, She IS we'll enough. and if the cir
cum>tanceS continued to be what they
were AT home, she would be forever nj
tractive and adorcd. But when She Is
thrown upon her own resources. il then
becomes evident how much She owed to
her sisters. whose unohtruSiNc virtues
were the necessary back ground To all
her spcciouS attractiveness Nine caSeS
out of ten the man will take the 1iri pt
the family who knows the least about
cooking, or the management Of a house.
or about nursing. and is the least patient
in trial, and has the least common
sense that j., the least Of those every
dav qualities that make life an agree.
able paStlme from hour To hour and day
To day. Hence, to cover his own blum
ders, the clamor for a Deceased Wfc's
Sister bill
The man loves his wife ot coarse he
do :; even her faults, her little selfish
demands upon him. are better in his
eyes than the virtues of other women.
But when real life begins, AMI thu sister
comes TO live in the houS., rs she pretty
certainly VIII come. then he sees who II
is that makes life 20 smoothly. who
takes up the hundred household bur
deus, who is always kind and patient,
and e ipcriallv indulgcnt 10 him for The
capacity OF the wife sister to be indnl-
cent t. all the weaknesses of her
brothrr-in-law is one Of the eircum-
stances that We must take into account
i'll this investigation Her utter self
sacrifice and ability to come into conf
Dental relations with him. and To take
his part against an authority which lie
sometimes fe.ls the weight OF, all the
novclistS have taken no.r Of. II is not
she who keeps a tight rein on him. lie
is not afraid OF her. She excuses him
and makes ii easy for him TO get ON
with him, And she has certain
sterling qualities that admirably supple
ment the losclncss and attractivencss
Of the wife He feels this for good
while without exactly seeing il or
knowing it. but when the great bereate.
mcnt of his life comes, and the world is
suddenly deSolate to him, he comes
around with the Deceased Wifc's Sister
bill.
Look at the world rs it is. Consider
the capacity of the sister for making
herself indispensable in the house. Sho
may not have had the power to attract
the man into matrmony, but she has
the qualities that he finally recognizes
as necessary to perfect comfort in IL;
and in England. when it is too late, he
wakes up to the fact that he should have
married the sister. But this il not the
end Of the inquiry. There is something
in the nature Of woman herself that
brings about this state Of things. In
order 10 bring out the best there is in
woman. sacrifice Of herself is always
necessary. Fortunately she enjoys this.
She has kind OF pleasure in seeing her
sister preferred and led away 10 the
altar She likes the man all the better
for being snch goose rs TO choose the
pretty and more incompetent one. And
in the nt.Ig hou sehold, whether she is
permanently part Of it or only has an
occasional superintendent of it, She
develops in her -ubordination many Of
the lovely vigueS. In s~:.i. eases she
was not natp""p SO unscliish or so
sweet f.-;lIpered or 50 tolerant Of a man 5
uaraasonabIcncss as her sister who mar
re but her to'e Of efellaccment is
ira Ming school. and all the sterling
atlal tie, OF woinaahood are evolved.
The very position Of being wife's sis
ter is an invaluable discipline. and We
10 mol wonder when we see 50 many
households where the sister. under this
discipline, shines with the steady radi-
ance Of a star Of the first magnitude.
Ii is probably useless to urge the In
glishman to marry his wife's sister in
the first place 1t would take away
on. % his grievances: and something
oi this kind to pat into Reform bill
he must always have. Human nature
is contradictory. and perhaps il he
could carry his Deceased Wifc's Sister
b.ll the subject would lose its attraction
for him. and assume the unimportant
position the matter holds in this coun-
irg.- Chartes Dnitey Warner, III Har-
1er's lAagazine