The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-09-18


you xiye your heart and hand In holy,
alliance, use al caution. In. uire outside
as to habits, explore the disposition, scru.
tinise the taste, question the ancestry and
find out the ambitions. Do not take the
heroes and the horoines Of cheap novels
for a model. Do not put your lifetime
happiness In the keeping Of q man who
has q reputation for being little loose in
morals or in the keeping Of woman who
dresses immodestly. Remember that,
while good looks are kindly gift OF
God. wrinkles or accident may despoil
them. Remember that Byron was no
more celebrated for his beauty than for
his depravity. Remember that Absalom's
hair was not more splendid than his
habits were despicable. Hear it! Hear
It! The only foundation for happy mar.
riage that ever has been or ever will be
Is good character.
Ask the counsel of father and mother
in this most important step of your life.
They are good advisers. They are the
best friends you ever had. They made
more sacrifices for you than any one else
ever did, and they will do more today for
your happiness than any other people.
Ask them, and, above all, ask God. l
used to smile at John Brown Of Hadding-
ton because. when he was about to offer
his hand and heart in marriage to one
who became his lifelong companion, he
opened the conversation by saying, "Let
us pray" But have seen so many ship
wrecks on the sea of matrimony l have
made up my mind that John Brown Of
Haddington was right A union formed
In prayer will be a happy union, though
sickness pale the cheek and poverty emp
ty the bread tray and death open the small
graves and all the path of life be strewn
with thorns, from the marriage altar with
It's wedding march and orange blossoms
clear on down to the last farewell at that
gate where Isaac and Rebecca, Abraham
ind Sarah, Adam and Eve, parted. and let
me say to you who are In this relation, II
you make one man or woman happy you
have not lived in vain. Christ says that
what he Is to the church you ought to
be to each other, and II sometimes,
through the difference Of opinion or diff
ference of disposition, We. make up your
mind that your marriage was mistake
patiently bear and forbear. remember
Ing that there is glory in the patient
endurance Of sad yoke. Life at the
longest is short, and for those who have
been badly mated in this world death
will give quick and final bill of divorce
Inent written In letters Of green grass
on quiet graves. And perhaps, my broth
er, my sister, perhaps you may appreciate
each other better in heaven than you
have appreciated each other on earth.
Quarrels to he Avoided.
In the Farm Ballads" our American
poet puts into the lips of a repentant hus-
band, after life Of married perturba-
ton, these suggestive words:
And when she dies wish that she would be laid
by me,
And. lying together in silence. perhaps we will
agree,
And II ever we meet in heaven l would not think
it queer
II we love each other better because we quarreled
here.
And let me say to those of you who are
In happy married union, avoid first quar-
rels; have no unexplained correspondence
with former admirers; cultivate no sus-
picions; in moment of bad temper do
not rush out and tell the neighbors; do
not let any of those gadabouts of soci-
ETY. unload in your house their baggage Of
CAB and title tattle: do not make it an
inyariabe rule to stand Oh your rights;
learn how to apologize; do not be so
proud or so stubborn or so devilsh that
you will not make up. Remember that
the worst domestic misfortunes and most
scandalous divorce cases started from lit
tie infeicities. The whole piled up train
of ten rail cars telescoped and smashed
at the foot Of an cmbankment 100 feet
down came to that catastrophe by get
ting two or three inches off the track.
Some Of the greatest domestic misfor-
unes aud the widest resembling divorce
cases have started from little misunder-
standings that were allowed to go on and
60 on until home and responsibility and
religion and immortal soul went down in
the crash.
Fellow citizens as well as fellow Chris
tians, let us have a divine rage against
anything that wars OH the marriage state.
Blessed institution! Instead Of two arms
to fight the battle of life, four; instead
of two eyes to scrutinize the path of life,
four; instead of two shoulders to lift the
burden of life, four; twice the energy,
twice the courage, twice the holy ambi-
ton, twice the probability Of worldly sue
cess, twice the prospects Of heaven. Into
that matrimonial bower God fetChes two
souls. Outside the bower, room for all
contentious, and all chickering's, and all
controversies, but inside that bower there
is room for only one guest-the angel of
love Let that angel stand at the floral
doorway of this Edenic bower with
drawn sword to hsw down the worst foe
of that bower-easy divorce. And for
every paradise lost may there be para
disc regained. And after we quit our
home here may we have brighter home
in heaven, at the windows of which, this
moment, are familiar faces watching for
our arrival aud wondering why SO long
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