The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-02-23

III tAtIf OWN GULL. Il COulu pOIIiU you W d
score whom society has let drop very
hard in return for their base traffic in
human hearts. AS to such men, they
walk around in their celibacy after their
hair is streaked with gray, and pretend
ing they are naturally short-sighted
when their eyes are so old in sin tnat
they need the spectacles of a septuagen-
arian, an eyeglass about No. s. and think
they are bewitching in their stride and
overpowerng in their glances, al Though
they are simply ughing-stocks for all
mankind. And if these base dealers in
human hearts be females they are left
after awhile severely alone, striving in a
very desperation of agony of cosmetics
to get back to the attractiveness they
had when they used to brag how
many masculine affections they had
slaughtered. Forsak ,u of God and honest
men and good women, are sure to be all
such masculine and female triiers with
human and yet immortal affections. o
man, O woman, having plighted your
troth, stick to it.
And here my idea widens and have to
say not only to those who have made
mistake in solemn promise of marriage,
but to those who have already at the
altar been pronounced one when they are
two, or in diversity of tastes and likes
and dislikes, are neither one nor two, but
a dozen, make the best you can of an aw.
full mistake. And here let me answer let.
ters that como from every State of the
American Union, and from across the sea.
and are coming year after year from man
and women who are terrifically allianced
and tied together in hard knot,
very hard knot. The let
tiers run something like this: "What
ought I to do; my husband is drunkard?"
"My wife is a gad-about and will not stay
at home" "My companion is ignorant
and hates books and revel in them" Il
like music, and a piano sets my husband
crazy" 81 am fond of social life and my
companion is recluse." 81 am trying to
be good and my lifelong associate is very
bad. What shall l do?" My answer is,
there are certain good reasons for divorce
ment. The Bible recognizes them. Cool
society recognizes them. But it must he
the very last resort and only after all
reasonable attempts at reclamation and
adjustment have proved a dead failure.
When such attempts fail it is generally
because of meddlesome outsiders, and
women tell the wronged wife how she
ought to stand on her rights, and men tell
the wronged husband how he ought to
stand on his rights. And let husband and
wife in an unhappy marriage relation
stand punctiliously on their rights and
there will be no readjus tment, and only
one thing will be sure to them and that is
a hell on earth.
If you are unhappily married. in most
cases advise you, make the best you can
of an awfully bad bargain. Do not pro-
ject our peculiarities more than is neces-
sary. Perhaps you may have some faults
of your own which the other party in the
marital alliance may have to suffer. You
are in the sams yoke. II you pull aside
the yoke will only twist your neck Better
pull ahead. The world is full of people
who made mistakes about many things,
and, among other things. about bstrothal
and marriage, and yet have been toler.
ably happy and very useful In the
strength of God, and by the grace prom-
ised in every time of need If those, who
seek it conquer the Instantaneous cir
cumstances. am acquainted with lovely
women married to contemplate
men and genial men yoked with
termagants inspired with the devil. And
yet under these dsadvantag es my friends
are useful and happy. God helps people in
other kinds of martyrdom and to sing in
the flame, and he will help you in your
lifelong misfortune.
Remember the patience of Job. What a
wife he hadi At time when he was one
great blotch of eruptions, and his prop
erty was destroyed by a tornado, and.
more than all, be:eav ement had come aud
the poor man needed all-wise counsel,
she advises him to go to curs;ng and
swearing. She wanted him to poutice
his boils with bias phemv. But he lived
right on through his marital disadvant.
ages, recovered his health and his fort.
une and raised a splendid family, and
the closing paragraph of the book of Job
has such jub lance that wonder people
do not oftener read it:
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job
more than his beginning; for he had 14,O0O
sheep, and 5000 camels, and 1,001 yoke of oxen,
and 1000 she asses. He had also seven sons
and three daughters. And he called the name
of the first Jemima; and the name of the sec
ond, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren.
happuch. And in all the land were no women
found so fair as the daughters of Jot; and their
father gave them inheritance among their
brethren. After this lived Job 40 years, and
saw his sons and his sons sons, even four gen.
erations. So Job died, being old and full OF
days.
Now, my badly-married friend of either
sex, if Job could stand it by the help of
God, then you can stand it by the same
divine reinforcement. You have
other rel at;ons, O, woman, beside the
wifely relation. If you are a mother,
train up your children for God and
Heaven. Ii you are a member of a
church, help move on its enterprises.
You eau get so much of the grace of God
in your heart that all your home trials
will seem insignificant. How little differ
ence does it mako what your unrightnous
husband calls you, if God calls you his
child and you are an heiress of whole
Kingdoms beyond the sky?
Immerse yourself in some kind of out
side usefulness, something that will en- list
your prayers, your sympathies, your
hand. your needle, your voice. Get your
heart on fire with love to God and the dis
enthrallment of the human race, and the
troubles of your home will bs blotted out
in the glory of your consecrated life.
cry out to you, o woman, as Paul exclaims
in his letter to the Corinthians: What
knowest thou, o wife. whether thou
shalt save thy husband? And il yeu can
not save him you can help in the grander,
mlghtier enterprise of helping save the