The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-29

Gladstone a l1elprneet whose infinite love
and unfailing patience and motherly care
were always at his side to chide, to bear
with and to watch over him.
Lord Salisbury was made by what the
world called a mesalliance, for it drove
him to write for the newspapers, and thus
gave him that readiness of tongue and Of
pen which accounted for the great position
he afterwards attained; and it was not till
the woman he loved so deeply became i'll
and died that his strength gave way and
that he had to surrender the mighty bur
den Of an empires rule.
On the other hand have known plenty
Of cases Of politicians who were ruined by
their wives, or by other women. Some of
these tragedies became public property;
others-and perhaps some of the most
tragic-have passed unnoticed and I'M
known.
Sometimes the woman who wrecks a
politician is not his wife, and then there
Is scarcely such a thing as an hour of I'M
mltigated ease or of whole hearted work
possible to him. I saw the strongest man
of our tfmes-a man whom I knew as a
| stalwart youth, who could walk his twenty
miles day, and who laughed at imprisOn-
| ment and perhaps even at death-I saw
him eaten away by such a secret, as was
the Spartan boy who held the fox inside
his coat until it had eaten out his entrails.
I have been reading recently the life of
George tEllOC,f ana i am not sure 1nat one
might not: say, with truth, that her union
with George Henry Lewes did much to
destroy her-both as woman and as an
artist It.. Is true that without Lewes,
with all his perfect knowledge of the trade
Of letters, and his perfect sympathy and
devoted and inspiring love-it is possible
! that George Eliot, who was the most diff
fident Of women, would never have had
the courage to write at all, and would
have gone to the grave unknown, except
to Herbert Spencer, Frederick Harrison
and the other philosophers of the world as
one OF the Jew women who understood
metaphysics, and as the daring and la
borious spirit who transferred to English
one a.nti-Christian work Of Strauss and
the broad theology of Fuerbach.
If we turn to the ranks of literary men
we again find cases both for and against
the theory Of Lord Kitchener. Take the
novelists of our time. The life Of Dick
ems was ernbtttered by domestic incom-
patibility. Thackeray had a wife whom he
loved, but she became insane soon after
their marriage; his life was spoiled and it
ended in death at an age which we now
consider comparative youth. Thackeray
was only 81 years Of age that sad Christ
mas eve morning when he was found dead
in his bed.
The experience of Lord Lytton was even
more disastrous. He fell madly in love
with the lady who was destined to be his
Vile. Some OF my readers who atten-
lively perused newspapers some ten or
fifteen years ago may remember a ceIa-
brated law Casa case which settled the
law forever on the question Of the own
ership OF letters, I'm which the point at
issue was whether or not lady who had
been a riend Of Lady Lytton was at lib
erty to publish the letters which fla been
written by Lytton to his wife during their
engagement. It was decided that the let
ters were the property Of their writer, and
that, therefore, the family of Lord Lytton
had right to prevent the publication of
Lord Lytton's letters. -
1t was well for his fame that the de-
cts1on was OF this kind, for the few let
ters that were delivered to the public
were specimens OF such arrant and al
most 1mbectle passion as would have made
tne poor man OF letters appear on the
same level as the inspired grocer's assist
ant VINO quotes the poetry OF the valen-
tine, or the infatuated servant lady.s
maid who sends crosses for kisses.
90 not think that a man is wiser in the
selection of wife at 80 than at 20; am
sure that he is not as wise at 40 as at 30;
and am convinced that once he reaches
SO his marriage should be arranged for
MIN by a family council. Ny experience
Is that men who delay marriage bring to
1t, when 1t does arrive. none OF the fresh
ness of emotion. which is it's chief guar
antee OF happiness and that, apart from
this, the man who does not marry young
misses as much the true freshness of mar
ried happiness and enjoyment Of life as
the man who gets up late in the afternoon
does the delights Of early day. And this
then, is my counsel: Marry when you are
II girl who Is 49,; II possible marry her
from the same town; IL possible from the
same street; If possible, from the house
next door to your own. And then take
the chances s-t-st .FlEs07s - $3.50