The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-01

childhood TO Womanhood. They were
made wives, that is to say, while they
were still far from being perfectly de-
veloped women physically, and were ut
terly immature mentally, with all their
natural womanly instincts which are the
only safe guide in the matter still in
allegiance. Fortunately the iniquity and
absurdity of this have been thoroughly
exposed, and now II parents attempted to
pitch forth their little daughters of from
twelve to sixteen into matrimony as
they did with impunity not so very long
ago, the whole world would cry shame
upon them.
The whole tendency of the modern edu-
cation for girls is to prolong their girl
hood. The CHASTITY doctrine that this Is
necessarily wicked world, in which
misery must be our portion, no longer
finds general acceptance. 1t is a favorite
axiom with us nowadays that every age
has its pleasures, or should have, with a
fair chance-childhood, girlhood, woman
hood-and to get the full value out of
each. Our intelligent girls begin to have
ideas of their own on the subject of the
disposition Of their lives, prompted no
doubt, by mothers of new order. They
do not care to be put off with half an
education and hustled into matrimony
while they still should be doing their
SNAAOOA
go along. They combine recreation with
study, and delight in everything, and it
Is not until they have had the founda-
ton of good general education that they
begin to be serious on the subject Of
matrimony. Serious is quite the right
word for their attitude. The meaning Of
life has begun to interest them and they
pause to inquire. What they demand in
husband is comrade, friend and lover
MI i,N
all means-if possible. The girl knows
quite enough to see the advantage of that
but none who must appreciate her, and
all round for what she is worth, and help
her to the full development of such.
She decidedly objects 10 marry an ex-
tingulsher who would tell her that her
proper place is In the nursery and kitchen,
With an infection on the words that tell
her that the nursery and kitchen are more
Worthtly regulated without mental ad-
Vancement, and the care OF them neces-
sarily precludes any further degree of
cultivation. To such a sutton the modern
girl replies, Not for me, my good man.
l am a versatile being, in whom are in
finite possibilities. and I mean to make
the most of myself. By so doing make
the most of you, too, and of every one
with whom I come in contact" Thinking
thus of herself, the modern girl grows
nizes the full indelicacy of being brought
up as wares for the market, to be dispos-
ed of to suit0r; and sees no sense i'll it,
either. Let the sutton come and find her.
She Knows that q woman's life is no long
er considered a failure simply because she
does not marry, and this makes her not
only independent, but somewhat defiant.
the position being still sufficiently new
to be wondered at and not wholly ap-
proved.
The pendulum, however, swings toward
approval We have considerably less ieer-
ing at old maids than formerly, and we
frequently nowadays hear of single
women whose independeAce and fuller in
terests make them the envy Of many a
married sister, whose health has suffered
and liberty been circumscrihed by what
are only too often the thankfess cares of
married life
Early marriage means early aging for
women, and one consequence of prolonged
girlhOOd Is the poStponement Of married
life. Women preserve their youthfulneSs
now much longer than used TO be the
case. The modern girl marries later in
life than her predecessor. She feels there
is no hurry, and takes plenty of time to
look about her. The healthy minded
would generally prefer to marry but just
at what age it is difficult to determine.
1t seems to me that the only possible an
swer to the question is the most obvious
namely, when she arrives at years of dis
erection. This happens at various ages
according to the character of the girl.
Some girls are sensible women at nine
teen, and some are never sensible at all.
The Amelia Sedley sort of girl is "a Sur
vival of the chattel period, and as she
never acquires the sort of discretion which
is a safe conduct through life, it makes
no difference at what age she marrles
She is the clinging sort of a creature,
who looks about for a man to lean upon,
and generally finds one-for men, in the
ory still prefer her. When they are cap
tured, if they do not suffer the fate of
the cak smothered by the ivy, but sur
NiVe to tell the tale, they still cling to
the theory, but they spend the leisure
hours Of their married life at the club.
My own experience as to the age at
which girls should marry is the well-edu-
Gated, self-reliant, modern maid does well
to marry as soon as she finds the right
man. A good husband will help even a
very young girl to make a success of
marriage, but l think that girl Of the
old-fashioned type runs great risk of
making mistake, both in her choice of
a husband and in the matter of marrying
at all, If she marrfes before twenty
FIVE.