The Florence tribune., 1898-06-18
EDUCATED WIVES.
A Teacher Says They Make the
 Best Companions.
Women of Higher Education Are Bet- ter Equipped for the Duties of Motherhood and Home
 Keeping.


 The following extracts are from an address made by Miss Clara Bostwiek, a teacher at the Elms school in Spring field, Mass:
 What is the college woman's proba- bility of happiness in marriage com pared with that of her less highly educated sister? She chooses her hus- band later. She is more developed; she knows better what she is going to be- she stands in better chance of not se- lecting a life companion whose tastes and hers wifi prove helplessly antagop- istic. And this is of especial importance in America, where girls and boys are thrown so freely together; where they marry when and whom they wish, and where the parents in many cases ap- parently have little else to do with the matter than to pay the bills and try to shield the young husband and wife from the consequences of their folly. The man whom a girl would have mar ried when she entered college is probably not the man whom she would marry when she is graduated from col lege. This may result in the breaking of some early engagement, but an en-. gagement that can be broken would better be broken The eollege-bred woman is also less likely to marry from ennui. Even if she is unfortunate enough to have no definite work, after she leaves college, she has resources within herself which can not only pre- vent life from becoming bore, but which can make it rich and satisfying Neither will she be likely to sell herself for the sake of home. She is better equipped to support herself, if neces- sary. and she has probably lost many silly ideas she may have had about the unladylikeness of honest, breadwin- ming work.
 Finally, when she has been won, she stands much better chance of keeping her husbands love and respect, be cause she stands better chance of in- teresting him.
 "'Men don't stay in their homes un- less they find their homes entertaining, said married woman of wide expert ence in the world, in talking about the education of her daughter. I tell my daughter that if she is ever to marry she needs to know something for two reasons; first to hold her husbands in-' terest; and second, to have within her self resources that will make her hap piness, to a certain extent, independent of him; in which case he will be much more likely to stay in love with her. i
 ''The statistics in regard to the mar riage of college women will not be com l plete until we have also the statistics in regard to their divorce. The state | ment has been made, whether truly or | not, that as yet no Vassar graduate has been divorced. Of course, all col- lege women are not interesting, any more than are all college men; but the four years companionship with noble thoughts ought to make one at least less stupid --~-.4,-}y
 Mate tho educated woman with the ] educated man and you have a probabil- ity that they will continue to interest and love each other; that there will be intellectual companionship between them; and that each will have sufficient respect for the others mental ability and moral sanity to make possible q government of the home and the chill dren, not by managing each other. keeping clear of q pandering to each others foibles and prejudices, but by frank and fearless discussion as to what is reasonable and right. This is not the condition of affairs in most homes.
 'The women Of the higher education bring to motherhood, too, better preparation than do those of smaller opportunities. The reasons for this are both physical and mental. They are, as rule, older. physically mature; and the opinion is leld by some physi- cians that, for the sake Of the physical perfection of the race no woman should marry until she is 25. They have a wider knowledge of physiological and psychological laws-or they have tho ability to acquire it-which must bring forth benefcent fruit in the rearing of their children. They know more pro- l foun6ly the responsibilities of mother hood; and their realization of the i'm portance of details in the training of child disposes them to look upon what might seem drudgery to other women as glorifed, educational opportunity" Boston Advertiser.