The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-12-10

years his senior whom he literally dragged
to the altar with his opportunities. She Is
a homely soul, and having made one I'M
lucky matrimonial venture, was much OPP
posed to risking another But her youthful
admirer threatened suicide, and her expert
ence with the sex cher first husband used
to threaten to suspend her over the BAN
listers by her topknot, and always did iO
inclining her to think he would keep his
word, she re-entered a state of servltude
ather than feel herself a murderess. When
1 saw them the other day i was reminded OF
a large and comfortable gray cat, in whose
society a spry and frisky kitten sported.
She cast an indulgent eye on his pranks,
and one could see ne would fly to her IN
time of danger.
Another canny youth who fell in love
with his chum's mamma, sent word to her
house that he had been drowned warlly
choosing the day when she was giving
tea. The widow promptly tainted, where
upon her lover ran in, and when she aWoke
she found herself being soothed to happl-
ness by his reassuring words. AS she nao
refused him in her dread of what people
would say, the youth made 1t clear to her
that the better policy, now that she had
exhibited her feeling, was to give her
right to express them.
The fact is that the winning of an elderly
bride Is fraught with such excitement anu
promises so many adventures that 1t is
have a girl of his own age when ne can
get one older than himself for the asking.
Nor does the fear that he Will lose MS to
nance as the years go by shadow the peace
of the mature wife. Prophecy that Ut
woould be so keeps him to his work. In
the matter of devotion to his mature but
hardly won bride he is more royalist dhan
the king. .
And 1t is Interesting to see how investi-
CATION dissipates our theories that youth
plays best with youth, for matrimony Is
not play, but a mighty serious business, so
serious that where this column is spending
the summer 1t is seldom entered upon when
the man is old enough to know his own
mind. 1t Is we'll, then, that one of the hrm
be endowed with discretion.
The observers will note, by the way, fhat
the elderly brides get the poets and the
dreamers, and even sometimes, the artists,
who have always had a passion for marry
ing plain women, I'm illustration of which
last statement / recall a Florentine painter,
an Adonis of youth, who ran away with an
elderly governess who had contracted 10
teach a cross child, but rebelled when made
to exercise two Skye terriers. This column
used to go to see them in their pretty
studio in the Bello Siguardo. where he was
painting the portrait of an enchanting
American girl; but that young lady might
as we'll have rolled her eyes at the broken
nosed Mercury in the villa garden. The
and then went out and looked after
savory little ragout she was stewing on
the Kitchen stove. Her whole air was that
Of George Sand to Flaubert: 81, too have
been young and subject to Indigestion, but
all that is past; now you Shall have your
little recreations."
In contemplating this couple for the first
time your correspondent realized the wis
dom of the decree in the Prayer Book of
the Church of England forbidding a man
to marry his own grandmother. Grand
mothers have always been more popular
with boys than mothers even and the ne
lation of my artist friend with his bride
irressubly recalled that irresponsible, but
delightful, relation, for to any wife her
husband is a sort of little boy, while to an
elderly wife he is not a son whom she must
train, but a grandson she may conscien-
tiously spoil. And to personal observation
is added the testimony of literature and
history. Khadijah was years older than
Mahomet; dear TetZy" was twice DR..
Johnson's age; Mrs. Kingsley was seven
years older than Charles Kingsley. The
same space of time existed between the
birth of Browning and his wife, and Ste
venson and his wife. George Eliot was
peacefully If briefly, married with Mr..
Cross Madame de Stael with the youthful
Rocca, and Mrs. Thrale with her boyish
second husband, while Lady Beaconsfed
was twenty years older than the author of
"Lothair," who described her. when she
was plain old woman of 70 and he pre-
mier of England, as: THAT excellent wo-
man who never could remember the diff
ference between the Parthenon and the
Pantheon, but who never bored me-
OF course, this column, which never
means to commit itself does not venture
to say that all old wives who are married
to young husbands are happy. While a
woman is never so fond of her friend as
when he looks her age, young husbands
have embarrassing ways or inviting their
wives to dress in youthful apparel and to
do Young things, under the impression that
gay colors and athletic exercises promote
a look of juvenility. I knew lady mar
ried to her sons tutor who is compelled to
meet him at the station every day, two
mile walk, which her daughter, with the
boldness of freedom and her years, de-
clines to take And / have seen no more
pathetic sight than this good woman at a
football game In which her husband plays
left back, her rheumatic but faithful per-
son wrapped In a white fascinator. 1 sup
pose, too, 1t has given wound to her
vanity to hear herself described In such
glowing terms as: 81 want you to know
nv wife, she Is such a comfortable person."
or to have his mother remark, as mother
in the writer's presence remarked TO an
elderly daughter-in-law:
"I wish Jack had some young people to
come to see him, it's so dull Tor MIN sittlng
I'D with us old folks"
An acquaintance, whose husband Is not
only young, but sentimental, tells me she
would be very happy If George did not
want her to listen to Mrs. Ella wheeler
Wilcox's poems of passion, and Tennyson's
"Maud," food only suited to juvenile ap-
petite. And then. too, suppose 1t is a
chore to keep on hand unlimited supplies
OF sweet cake and jam; as l am told is the
duty of full-blown housewives married to
boys.
But one may we'll remember that 1t was
to no blooming bride that the preface to
"The Weir of Hermiston" was written;
no young and ardent maid inspired zone
Word More" or cat the Fireside." Those
impassioned epistles, penned by the camp
fire by the greatest of all modern soldiers,
were addressed to a woman already faded,
and whose life had been full of experiences
in which he had no part since when they
occurred, he was in the fifth form OF an
Eco1e Militaire And 1t was of woman
twelve years older than himself that Warm
hagen said: '"This circumstance (the differ
4k-AIf IGFhf