Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-09-12
LOVING ONES COUSIN.
ADVICE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE
MARRIAGE or RELATIVES

MARRIAGE CT RELATIVES
n YAziexsphy u Love sd AAsesics.
Nsrs Br.aA~riy or Sisssriy Feeiirs sAecid
~ ne csrssaa.;ss; With the saes,s and
Inspiring Ezzstien.
Here Is a a1ps1ioa uiaich he's been often
answered: bat, rs car correspondent says.
liz discussioxl Is asss.ys Interesting Azssi y
Of deep coscer.i 10 nsaax young peoples
Il love my cos in, and she loves me. bot
nav mother Is opposed tee.lse she does net
believe in nixing blood, e-e- Mary, this IS
q question which Interests great nnrnter
and more tk4n yess esa e.sr imagine. Your
answer to il utszsi,l ts oi service to nae-"
It Is easily expiafaso.e Why 50 many
youn. fellows fail N isve svssa sAeei- pretty
cousins. The relationship promotes the in
t;ruate association which breeds the tender
pxssion. They start cut withrthe affection
Of kinshiu. al2ti thns come together On
terms provocative of tie iove that leads 70
the desire fog marriage. IN childhood they
may have been 10 oie another almost as
brother and sister. bas When they have
reached manhood aud womanhood they
fnd that there has grown up in them a nat
ural sentiment radically different from fra
sernal attachment. II is possible for them
To marry, and the consciousness Of this
generates the desire 10 naasfYa
When a man permits himself to entertain
such thoughts regarding a woman, more
especially in the rom .isiie period Of his life,
they soon get the mastery ever kin- In his
eyes she aloae among woTiea has irsosissi-
bic attraction Ills fidelity 10 her IS ALSO
lutte, because for the time 40 other feminine
influence Is powerful enough To divert the
general love ~ man fox woman which he
has concentrated en- a particular goIan-
He may have been d .pted seil, ~, saw
even his uncther viii los, his confidence am
less she aecor,ls with his will. Hemay have
been y reasonable boy, but TOW he is driven
by the force Of 'rap,:lsiye seatiment only,
A fixed idea E..s s:sia@l possession OF him.
and opposition seryes only to intensity his
passion. Ills aitu seems to i.i--i to be deter
mined beyai the power CT human iuaa-
ence tr otter il. la all tbs world, he thinks,
there & emily ore woman whom he can
marry with0ut outra2ing the sanetity OF
wesiiock or doonaing himself to lifelong;
misery
II pln,uts : i5b to ceatrol the direction
feeling takes, they nust take precautions
in advance ii the appearance Of the iirst
symptoms vi the swe, disease. They nust
foresee - inevitable coming and make
reasfy the -.oufse which they would have
the tunul:uo0s current follow. or they
must staIat By rowercss to divert its tend
ency from =, chanu.'l of its own choosing
that is, they must look out that the init
macy Of 20 .n2 people which Ii stimulatIve
of love shall i,e confined 10 those whom
they think proper for mating, proceeding
ON the sound assumption that love may be
exclusive wlsea cacs it has found partieu-
lar proyOcL on, biit that III essence II Is
general sent .ngIiJ whtlSe concentration de-
ponds on for5ultoas circumstances, associa-
tions and opportunities. 1t is highly IN
ilamuablo material. quick TO blaze up
when the s;iarS r,,aches il. This spark may
need to be /, special fascination, but IL Is
fascination Will saay BE- exercised by any
one Of many under favuring conditions. IL
is not pecttii.sr to aa individual, as the en-
arnored Imagine. though it may belong
only to a class of Compartments.
The very t.; that a young man aad a
young girl nre "nadly IN love" with each
other su.,ey>ls, the ECttl Of caution as to
their marriage. They should get in their
right seHs,-s before geuturing to take II step
SO rnomcutoi- in bota its practical and
sentimental Consequences. 1t is better for
the passion to cool of before marriage than
after IL is better for them to get their
eyes open before rather than afterward.
The test Of the feeling, whether it is mere
instructive and evanescebt excitement or
real and enduring affection, should he made
before they 20 to the altar, since at one
time or the other it is bound to be made.
All this seems to he FAR away from the
question Of our correspondent, but in truth
il is pertinent to it. Simply because he
loves his corsin and she loves him in re-
turn is no sufficient reason why they
should get married. They can love each
other without being married, and the best
way they can express and prove their
mutual love may BIZ in not getting married.
Ii the objct ions Of our correspondents
mother to their union be well founded.
each should look on their marriage rs a
selfish ratification at the expense of the
other.
Cousinship il not necessarily bar to
marriage for fear Of injury 10 the offspring
of the union, but the collateral consanguin-
ity dictates special caution about entering
into wedlock Where there is q common
inheritance of tendencies to physical or
mental defect or weakness, IL is dangerous,
for the hcrt ditary disposition may be inten-
sifiesi by the breeding in, but so, too, these
tendencies may be common to n pair not
thus related.
Some OF the current social reformers
want board of physiological and anthro-
biological experts legally empowered to
regulate marriages in strict accordance
with scientific theories of breeding, but
under such system the whole institution
of marriage would be destroyed. Mating
would take the place of marrying, and the
sentiment which gives life its greatest
beauty wnutd he extinguished. Society
would he turned INTO a human stock farm,
and men a. d women would be degraded to
the level OF brutes. Moreover, under such
physiological restraints there would be lit
tie mating Not one marriage in hundred
would stand such a test Of its fitness. so
general is the Inheritance which might be
described rs defective. 50 mixed up is the
blood of the human race. Nor can the
qualities most desirable for preservation in
men be perpetuated By the methods used
in breeding horses and cattle.
Hence we can lay down no absolute rule
for the guidance of our enamored friends
Many cousins have married without evil
consequences to their offspring. In many
other eases the results have been deplor-
able Each case must be d5cided by itself
in view of possible chances and probable
fruit. A wise physician acquainted with
the family history would be the best adj
wiser for our anxious correspondent, since
the only objections urged against the mar
riage seem TO come within the special prov
ince OF such an eNncrt New York sun.