Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-06-13

ter, where they have signed the
same name, there begins union that
ought to be ideal. The cords of
mind, body and spirit should be gen
tly, but firmly. intertwined in
friendship that will endure when the
glamour of The honeymoon has long
been past. Married friendship should
be one Of the most perfect things in
the world. How comes It that it so
rarely reaches this ideal? That the
marital duet is so often full of dis
cords? That the holy state of matri-
mony'' is among the recognized ma
terial for tawdry jokes? Why is it
that the word uxorious conveys a con
temptuous meaning? And, above all,
why should the modern wife conceal
her love for her husband as though
it were a crime?
Thtre is no gainsaying the fact
that in Britain we have to great
extent lost sight of the high ideal of
married life, and yet our favored is
lands are notably the country of the
home. Nowhere save in Canada and
in certain section of French society
is the cult of the home better fol
lowed than it is with us. And yet the
atmosphere of it is too often the slaty-
gray of commonplace. For the hus-
band the home is merely the place to
begin the day and end it.. For the
wife, without regret she sees him go,
and without exhilaration hears his
latchkey in the evening. An attitude
of mutual federation has replaced the
exquisite attraction that drew them
together in the early days Of their
union. There may still be a firm
friendship between them, even
pleasant comradeship; but what has
come of the delight IN each others
society in which they once had rev
elled? Where is the beautiful joy of
welcome that once made the return a
rosy anticipation throughout the day,
a delightful reality with the reunion
for the evening hours?
The disenchantment that follows
upon dreams of rosy path through
lie is sometimes lingering process,
sometimes perplexingly rapid. Hus-
band and wife expect too much of
each other, especially when they are
very much IN love. The old prescrip-
tiou TO begin with a little aver
SIGN" might almost afford better re-
suits, but a wise counsel would be to
combine a great respect with the lit
tie aversion. There can be no true
and lasting love without respect.
When Tommy Moore represents
soprano lady as singing:
know not, l care not what dwells
in that heart,
l but know that love thee, whatever
thou art"
he puts the songstress as completely
out of drawing, from the point of
view of commonsense, as she would
be with stricken deer" at rest in
her bosom, as in the first lines of the
verses.
Many a girl has married a man
whom she respected, and later learn
ed to love him. 1t is a dangerous
SApGl 4B1Snl, DuG II 10 SchiCA IelA IMAM
marrying a man one loves but can
not respect. In the wear and tear of
everyday life it is mutual respect
that tells. The man who finds that
he has married a woman to whom
honor is an empty name: the woman
who discovers that the husband she
has promised to honor and obey is
destitute of principle; what chance of
happiness is theirs? Love soon trays
out and gets worn to shreds, and
yet they have taken each other "for
better, for worse" This clause in
the agreement is terribly binding.
For better, for worse"
If man should become a slave to
some revolving habit, the love OF
drink, for instance, the wife's first
feeling is that she cannot continue to
share her life with a beins so de
graded Every instinct of pure WON
anhood and refinement revolts against
it. But yet-for better, for worse
she feels in her heart that were she
to leave him, his only stay would be
loosed and his descent of Avernus
would be easy indeed. If she has a
high standard of honor, she remains
with him and does her best to win
him away from his detestable weak
ness. 1t can be done by kindness
only. Scorn and sarcasm, raging in
dignation, expressions of contempt,
are the first impulses Of wife in
such circumstances. But she soon
learns that there is no efficacy in
these. Patient, unwearying gentle
ness, amending forbearance, with a
few words of quiet protest now and
then, form the only prescription for
dealing with such cases. Many
thousands of wives have spent half
their lives in a close companionship
that revolts them, REFRESHING every
impatient word, dealing with the sick
soul. the ailing, polluted body with
a gentle kindness that has to be new
every morning" so worn is it with
disgust and WEAKNESS Of the dread
full task. That of Sisyphus was easy
Is compared with this; for what is
physical effort, however difficult, as
contrasted with moral struggle?
There is the converse of the picture.
unfortunately not uncommon. The
husband whose wife becom, a victim