The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-08-30

ont 81 the wre tohed dilemma in which
she Is placed, when she discovers that
her engagement Is . mistake, instead OF
rende 1t, as at present, almost I'm.
possible to retrieve false step before
IL is too late. am bound to say that,
while strongly deprecating 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
Rod Of mutual probation, and mar
rage should only ensue If the expert
ment has been so far satisfactory to both
parties. Es5a
Considering how rich a country En-
gland is, it is extraordinary how poor
most English women are-I mean, in
their own right In France hardly a
peasant girl marries without a dot;
here, even well-to-do fathers seem to
expect to marry of their daughters
without giving them q penny. This is
principally the result Of the time-hon-
ored English custom OF making an
eldest son the principal heir-a process
which is mainly accomplished at the
expense of the young mans sisters.
From the purely sentimental point OF
view, it is no doubt gratifying to 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 woman's independence, the idea Is
quite odious, and it seems to me little
short of monstrous that.a rich man who,
in dying, bequeaths say $40, 900 to each
Of his sons, should consider his daugh-
ters amply provided for with 100000
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 d.
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 the 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 a 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.
years ago would have been regarded as
positive mes-alliance, but nowadays
it is sensibly accepted as a perfectly
suitable matrimonial arrangement.
Some discussion has recently taken
place as to the proper age at which girls
should marry. One Of the weekly jour-
nails requested it's 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 mono men.
toned figure lower than twenty-one
AS myself was married within acouple
Of months of leaving the school-room,
I should not like to be too severe on
early marriages, but feel sure that
there is 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 MarchioRess 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 a 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 large mum Der of English
gir1s-many more, 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 OF
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