The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-01-02
A CHALLENGE.
The Pessimist That Decrys Marriage
Called Down.

Called Down.
The pcssimists have so long had it their
own way, and have been able to justify
their lamentations so well by pointing to
the divorce courts and the scandal of mod
ern fiction, says Mr.. Charles Dudley
Warner, in lIarpcrs, that the easily-led
world was beginning to believe not only
that marriage is failure, but that the
whole social state is deliquescent. 1t has
occurred to Mr.. Warner that it is about
time to challenge this conclusion by an
appeal to the sound part of society, and
get the testimony of wives on this sub
jcct Abiding to the fact that such a
cha llenge has been made in an English
periodical and that the result of cores
pOndence promises to be Overwhelmingly
III favor of happy marriages, Mr.. Warner
says:
1--WE know that the great mass of soci
ETY. is always sound, or it could not hold
together. 1t is the exceptionally discOn-
tented who are oftenest heard, and it is
the exceptionally unfortunate or vicious
who attract most attention. The COM
plants of the one and the visible and
Haunted misery of the other furnish us
n sufficient spectacle of a world gone
wrong, and sufficient illustrations for
those who adopt depressing theories, and
apparently enjoy the prospect of pretty
nearly universal unhappiness. The wise
know, indeed, that no one is happy ut all
times, and that no one escapes suffering,
and that the experiment of two lives liv-
ed as one though of natures own devising
is not always successful. Yet i'll the great
mass it is reasonably successful, and is, at
any rate, n condition better for humanity
than any other that has been tried. Writ
ers are apt to judge both the morals and
the cOntentment of men by the congcSted
cities, just as our travellers used to repre-
sent the empires of China and Japan as
utterly immoral from their experience of
the scaboard cities. But even in the cities
it is n fractional view of life upon which
the pcssimists base their theories of the
misery of life and the misfortune of mar
riagc. The fairly contented and the reas-
onably happy are silent; the mass of do
nestle life is unreportcd. And this is why
the modern newspaper, which reports day
by day the accidents and the unusual in
life as news, is such an untrue reporter of
the actual state of society, and will be
such n poor guide to the historian who re-
fcrs to ii alone for his estimate of the So
cial life of the last quarter of the nine
tcenth century. 1t is more misleading
than the satires Of Juvcnal. But when
we 30 out of the cities and large towns
into the country and among the small vii
lagos, either in England or America,
where there is less rivalry in ostentati0n,
and less strife for luxury, and less con
gestion of i'll living and poverty, the civ
ilization of these latter days make a very
good show. Considering the actual frail-
ties of human nature, and the natural
hardships of any state of development,
growth, and decay, it is really wonderful
to see how happy and cheerful the world
is. how much kindness there is, and help
fitness and contcntment. 1t can not he
that the fundamental conditions of life
are all wrong, and that the conjugal and
family relations are makeshifts, or i'll
moribund state"
Asto the testimony of happy marriages.
Mr.. Warner would like to see plebiscite
of wives generally. He continues:
IF women wish to vote, here is some
thing on which they could vote under
standingly, which is much more than men
usually do when they vote. and the YER
diet we would get would help to quiet. |
am sure, the infinite babble about I'M.
happiness in marriage, or we would have
statistics as to the facts upon which to
base an agitation for return. The ballot,
happy or unhappy, might have append
ed succinctly the cause. In case of UNI
happiness, we might know whether il was
from the intCmpcrance or the cruelty of
the man, or his shiftlcSSneSS. or, if the
were candid, how often it arose
from the i'll temper or ignorance of dOmes-
tic economy on the part of the wife:
whether in fact. it was incradicahle in
the instability Of human nature or whcth-
er 1t arose from some social conditions
which wise legislation or better knowl-
edge of how TO live could mitigate When
the vote is taken, it will be well also to let
those who are unhappy in marriage say
whether they would like to change. Not
withStandiDg all the disagreed biitics. in
compatibiities, and petty irritations and
daily worries, how many would like to
change? 1t having been discovered that
life is not altogether at the best picnic
or even ball or Il church fair. or exactly
to be described rs a pleasure excursion.
how many would like to break up the or
der to which they are more or less wOnted
and try something else? How many
couples, having become used to each 9th
ers ways, would like to make new CON
tract with other faults unknown? | fan
cy that. in view of being called to make a
total change, to the vast ma iority the an
noyances they suffer from would seem
trltling in comparison. But whether
are wishing to vote on this subject
or not the voluntary testimony to which
| alluded is of considerable interest in
these days, and may turn the minds of
many who are drifting into mournful and
pesSimistic thinking to make little in
veStigaton on the bright side of life. 1t
has been sort of fashion to inspect the
Slums-a dire necessity, 10 he sure-but
IN equally faithful inspection of the de-
cent side of life may bring us some COM
fort
--o--
/ fol- nr