The Republican., 1890-08-22

out of the wretchcd dilemma in which
she is placed, when she discovers that
her engagement is a mistake, instead OF
rendering 1t, as at present, almost i'm
possible to retrieve false step before
it is too late. am bound to say that,
while strongly dcprecating rash and
hasty betrothals, feel great sympathy
for Sir Henry's view, which, if generally
adopted, might be the means Of avert
ing many domestic tragedy. The
time of engagement ought to be Pc
riod of mutual probation, and mar
riage should only ensue if the expert
ment has been so far satisfactory to both
parties.
Considering how rich country En-
gland is, it is extraordinary how poor
most English women are-I mean, in
their own right. In France hardly
peasant girl marries without dot;
here, even well-to-do fathers seem to
expect to marry off their daughters
without giving them penny. This is
principally the result of the time-hon
ored English custom of making an
eldest son the principal heir-a process
expense of the young mans sisters.
From the purely sentimental point of
view, it is no doubt gratifying to a girl
to be selected entirely for what she is,
and not for what she brings, but fancy
that after marriage the qualification
soon fades away before the practical
necessity of asking her husband for
every shilling she requires. To me, as
an ardent believer in woman's rights
and womans independence, the idea is
quite odious, and it seems to me little
short of monstrous that rich man who,
in dying, bequeaths say $40, 600 to each
of his sons, should consider his daugh-
ters amply provided for with 800
apiece. Fortunately, in this as in many
other things, public opinion is under
going change; and trust that before
many years have passed an equal di-
vision Of property between brothers and
sisters alike will become the rule in
stead of being the rare exception.
Another point in recent social de-
velopment which bears favorably on the
marriage question in England is the
rapid breaking down of class distinc-
tiOns and tho consequent extension of
the field Of possible matrimonial choice.
The aristocracy and the county families
inter-marry freely nowadays with the
professional and upper middle classes.
Thus, only few weeks ago, the eldest
daughter Of the Earl of Carlisle, Lady
Mary Howard bestowed her hand and
heart on Prof. Murray, the clever young
Greek professor at Glasgow University.
Such a union some twenty or thirty
years ago would have been regarded as
a positive mes-alliance, but nowadays
it is sensibly accepted as perfectly
suitable matrimonial arrangement.
Some discussion has recently taken
place us to the proper age at which girls
should marry. One of the weekly jour
nails requested its readers to state what
in their opinion was the best marrying
age, and of all the answers received
the vast majority fixed on twenty-five as
the most suitable age, while none men,
toned figure lower than twenty-one.
AS | myself was married within acouple
OF months of leaving the school-room,
| should not like to be too severe on
early marriages, but / feel sure that
there is a growing feeling in English
society against allowing girls to make
their final choice too early in life. 1t is
quite the exception for girls in good
society to marry before they are eight
cen, although the Marchioness of Stat
ford and future Duchess Of Sutherland
entered into the bonds of wedlock on
her seventeenth birthday, and many
parents object to their daughters marry
ing till they are over twenty. For my
part, it seems to me that it is ques-
ton impossible to settle by fixed rule.
There are plenty of girls regarding whom
it would be very difficult to bring for
ward any tangible reason either physi-
cal or moral to prevent them marrying
while still in their teens; on the other
hand, there are a large number of English
girls-many more, 1 fancy, than in
America-who remain curiously girlish
and undeveloped until long after their
school years are passed. Under such
circumstances mothers ought certainly
to defer the marriage question until
their daughters are twenty-three or
tWenty-fOur