The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-06-08
TwENTY-rIRsT PRIZE PAPER.
delayed by Memorial Hu'nber.)

delayed bp Memorial Ha'nber) s
l. AT what age should girl n,arry?
2. What should be her qualifications as n wife?
8. Should she marry man who is her like phys
ically. mentally. and morally, or opposite7
At what age sI,oud girl marry? Surely so1ne-
thing else should be considered beside the mere
supreme ply steal fitness, which physicians have
fixed variousiy between The ages of Is and %.
Certainly she should not take the step until time
has proven beyond doubt the qualify ana en-
durance of her love, for which In haste she may
mistake transient emotion. or, at best, only the
admiration of pleasing face, pair OF eloquent
eyes perhaps some mental superiority or some
splendid moral trait without considering ther
mutual adaptability.
Sober observation and introspecton should con-
vince her whether not the man she womb
choose above all others is the man upon whom
she could rely under all circumstances; whose
honor she could trust; whose courage she could
revere; whose face she could gaze upon across the
hearth year alter year, without feeling growing
repugnance and rebellion against the laws OF mai
and God, which had welded her life irrevocaoiy 10
his
Certainly not until she has asked herself, How
will il be 10 or 80 years hence? Will my love out
live misfortune and nge? Will his oyerllve out
side temptations, and teach him patience for my
weaknesses. which time must increasingly reveal!
i have faith in the intuition which must answer
these questions for her.
Perhaps not until late in life this full assur-
Hnce, but sooner or later il comes TO all aud n
woman who values her honor and her future hap
piness will never accept empty promise, Tor The
full fruition which comes TO all who wait.
A marriage of convenience" is n sin against
nature, and its sequence is outraged conscience
and n heart that refuses TO he comforied for the
woman who has not touched the hesrt OF q man
before lie leads her TO the altar has scarcely q
chance TO charm it when possession and security
turn their powerful arms against her"
But when she has the approval of her own heart
and conscience she may lot fear but that marriage
will increase her happiness and teach her how
much the wife Is dearer than the bride"
2. The only qualifications that seem actually
necessary in a wife are those which relate person.
y IN har Inns hanG ada ttthi a.
ture.
If UNSOLICITED in housewifely knowledge, time
and experience soon teach her the necessity of in
dustry and economy. and she learns by each mis-
take TO avoid q similar one.
The only serious unftness is the jarring DISPOSE
ton: and the only real qualifications those
which time and an earnest purpose revesl-those
characteristics which unconsciously dovetail into
a mans nature, and make those twain one.
man never likes his wife to be as clever as
himself; lie likes her to appreciate all bis moods,
10 understand when 10 speak and when TO be
silent; and above all. lie values that heart-syin-
pathy which tells him that wherever he may
tend, he has always her unspoken approval.
The words which Milton has put into Eve s
mouth are TO man the imbodimcnt OF all the
womanly gTsces:
God is thy law thou mine; to know no more
Iswomans happiest knowledge and her praise"
:, g. The happiest marriages l have known mr.. are
those In which the man aud the woman were dis
tinctly different types physically, mentally and
morally. Ruffini describes il so we'll in his 81 DIR.
Antonioo: +" So much in common, how different
in type. She ali golden hues and softness; lie all
dark shades and energy. Her stops so light and
childlike his manly and steady. Such n con-
trast, aud yet such harmony-strength and weak
ness blended togethcri Every characteristic fca
ture of the setting forth TO advantage and CIV
ing zest TO that of the other the fiery black da-
mond casting luster over the Oriental pearl; the
Oriental pearl in turn lending softness TO the black
diamond" Not unequaliy mated though unlike.
To be constantly seeking in that other nature
what is lacking in ones owp to love it and TO be
charmed by it-that bright intangible quality that
we do not possess to pursue it through life, far.
faint, ethereal phantasmagoria that never disillu
sions us-this is the survival of the fittest" the
distilled idealism of the institution call mar
rage.
Sight and sound alike unerring, there is no jar
ring discord to pain the ear-oniy the grand SYM
pbonius accord of different life notes striking un-
falterngy together. beautiful and sublime, even
when saddened into minor strains.
Georgia A. Martini 1905 Morton Ave-, Louisville.
KY.