Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1900-10-11

But" she said. you do NOT s,s,-
my question Does marriage bsln
man?"
Sometimes yes, sometimes M :.
depends great deal on the nrofo.
sion or the calling of the man
Well doctor, for instance
Yes said, marriage beIrs
doctor; it stamps him respectsh1s
and many women will not consrit
doctor unless they know that he i =
married man; but white hair will,
help him quite as much"
That is not very promising" said
the lady.
We'll" replied, 'let us try again ~
Surely woman can do much IL IN
spire, to encourage a man whatever
his work may be-"
Eyes, a sympathetic woman can a,
a great deal; but it is very difFcu1t -
quite determine what effect her boIo
may have upon her husbands vori,
during the various critical periods 80
his career. There may have been
days when, without her encouraga-
ment, he would have lost faith in him.
self, but such cases are rare Then
you speak of artists, of people who
live by praise, feed on il. have
known painters who looked for and
found such encouragement from their
wives. On the other hand. have
known others who sought solituda
when az work-men who could NOT
have expressed their message unless
alone with their art. | 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 thew
were absolutely left alone with their
thoughts"
But If wife makes a man nanny.
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
filling many little hungry mouths.
And another thing, you must remem-
Der that the single man can command
the interest of a 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, unpleasantness at
least, and stand in the way of mans
success"
Then" said the lady, "let US
CHI, nge the question. Does marriage
hal per a MANI
Undoubtedly there are professions
which seem to necessitate bachelor
hood, where marriage is not only no
help, but a handicap. soldier, for
instance, should not marry, for a mar
ried soldier good fighting man though
he may be, never can forget the wife
and perhaps the little ones at home"
Il take it," said my lady interlocu-
tor, that you do not advocate mar
riage' for the rising poet, painter,
dramatist or novelist"
Il 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 intlict greater torture upon
woman than the mere fact of loving a
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. 1t is the
natural depth of a poets emotions, of
an artists temperament, to fall in
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 IN
fits the brain worker for matrimony.
Only people who have uneventful, al
most humdrum, lives, are perfectly
happy in marriage"
Then you do not admit the exist
cnce of the man who needs the quiet
sympathy of a good domestic wife be
fore his art becomes fully articulate?'
NO, because the artist constantly
wants stimulants, and a domestic life
is not stimulating Now, do not mis-
understand me. Marriage can make
a man very happy including the man
with the strong artistic temperament,
but | 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 OH
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
D.