Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-10-11

found such encouragement from theil
wives. On the other hand. | have
known others who sought solitude
when at work-men who could not
have expressed their message unless
alone with their art. l have known
authors who looked for inspiration
from their wives, or thought they did
and | have known others who could
| not do a stroke of work unless they
| were absolutely left alone with thei,
thoughts"
But if a wife makes a man happy
that alone, surely, helps him?"
"Of course it does, but the married
| man has far greater responsibilities
than the single one, and he may be
| obliged to produce for the sake OF
filing many little hungry mouths
And another thing, you must remem
Der that the single man can command
the interest of great number of wo
men who would not care to be inter
ested in his wife, and very few wives
will realize that they may not be as
interesting as their husbands. This
will cause trouble, unpleasantues at
least, and stand in the way of a mans
success"
Then" said the lady, let us
change the question. Does marriage
hamper a MANI
Undoubtedly there are professions
which seem to necessitate bachelor
hood, where marriage is not only no
help, but handicap A soldier. for
instance, should not marry, for mar
ried soldier, good fighting man though
he may be, never can forget the wife
and perhaps the little ones at home. "
L take it." said my lady interlocu-
tor, that you do not advocate mar
riage for the rising poet, painter.
dramatist or novelist"
L do not advocate marriage for any
man that has the artistic tempera
ment strongly developed. The man
who is strong enough to achieve great
things is strong enough to achieve
them alone, that is, unless he is for
tunate enough to meet the exceptional
woman. Lord Byron said that moth
ing can infict greater torture upon q
woman than the mere fact of loving
poet. This is not due to the heartless
or deliberate cruelty of the poet. He
himself is to be pitied for being a
martyr, the slave Of art It is the
natural depth of a poets emotions, of
an artists tnponnro DooD+ ~ fon -,
love with every lovely woman. The
higher we rise in the intellectual
scale, says a modern writer, the
more varied, complex and deep are
the emotional groups which delight
and torment the soul. Mental work
does not eXtinguish passions, it feeds
the flames, on the contrary, and I'M
fits the brain worker for matrimOny.
Only people who have uneyentful, al
most humdrum, lives, are perfectly
happy in marriage"
Then you do not admit the exist
ence of the man who needs the quiet
sympathy of a good domestic wife be-
fore his art becomes fully articulate?"
mo, because the artist constantly
wants stimulants, and a domestic life
is not stimulating. Now, do not mis-
me. Marriage can make
a man very happy, including the man
with the strong artistic temperament,
but I don't think that it helps him. |
have come across hundreds of cases
where artistic and literary efforts
have been checked and sometimes
killed outright by the petty cares and
worries of domestic life The brain
worker is very easily irked and tor
mented by the most trivial things. He
is irritable and most sensitive. |
have known literary men put right off
their work for days simply because
devoted wives came into their studies,
and after giving them an encouraging
kiss, carried off their pens to make
out their washing list. I have known
painters whose faculties were posi-
lively benumbed by the presence of
their wives. | have known dramatists
who could never set to work in ear
nest before they had sent their
families into the country, or had
themselves left home far behind
them. And, mind you, these men
were all fond of their wives"
"You are not encouraging"
"Will you have a cup Of tea?"
Thank you, with pleasure-but
does marriage
DO you take Sugar?"
IF you please-but are there not
cases''-
"And cream?"
'Please-Now, tell NEE
What 1 think of the Paris ExposI-
tion?"