Omaha daily bee., 1912-04-02

mans darling than young mans slave. v
But like other proverbs this one is only
true in spots and under certain condi-
tons. and. as a general thing. the girl
who marries an old man. thinking that
he will make OF her a pampered pet,
finds that she has been grtevously gold
bricked In the transaction. She has got
the old husband, and the slavery to
boot.
But at what age is 1t safest to take =
matrimonial risk on a man? Twenty?
Thirty? Forty? Fifty? sixty?
Pass up twenty 10 begin with. Heaven
help the girl who is fool enough TO
marry a boy OF twenty! At twenty a
man has all the matrimonial faults In
the calendar and none Of the virtues,
He is callow. egotistlcal, self-eentred,
selfish, undeveloped, unstable. and mar
risge with him spells certain misery.
There's a divorce coupon that goes with
nearly every marriage license that Is
issued to a boy Of twenty.
No very young man ever thinks OF
anything but his own pleasure. Life
has not disciplined him and taught him
selfcontrol, and so when things go
wrong In the homo and he feels upon
his shoulders the burdens Of family
life, he is dead sure TO take out on his
wife the price of his own folly. The
Rayety and amusements that rightly be-
long to his time Of life call to him, and
when be has to stay at home and walk
the collie and push the perambulator in
stead Of honking away In automobiles "
two-stepplng at dances. or roaming the
green golf links, he Is the family gloom.
all right.
Besides which. no boy Of % years or
whereabouts knows what he wants in a
wife, and the one best bet is that he'll
tire Of whomever he did marry. no mat
ter what a confederation she may be Of
feminine graces and virtues. Therefore.
girls, as you value your happiness.
never. never. never marry a mere boy.
Kidnapping is a life sentence at hard
labor in matrimony as It is in crime.
Thirty Is a good risk. By the time a
man is 90 years old his character is. At
least, well enough formed for a woman
10 be able to look him over and see
what she's getting. When she marries
him she isn't marrying a human riddle,
the answer to which no one can guess.
as she does when she marries boy.
Also a man at that age has been batted
up against the world long enough 20
knock some Of the eonceit out of him.
and a little consideration for other peO-
pie into him.
Against thirty il may be said that a
man still retains many OF the grand
Turk ideas OF his youth concerning
woman. and that he will expect any
woman that he marrles to be properly
grateful to him for the honor that he
confers upon her. Also. that most men
at that age are just in the hardest part
Of their fight TO get a foothold in bust
ness so that the women who marry them
must be willing TO do their part TO make
many sacrifices, endure many priva-
tons and to be content with the per
functory attention OF a man whose
Moe heart = conferred on getting along
But in favor Of the man or thirty IL
may also be said that he has the fire
and passion of youth, for him are still
the glory and the circIing wings Of love
before romance pales and sentiment dies
down into ashes. He can give to bis
wife that most precious Of all boons.
comradeship. and Il matters not TO the
woman wo gets this whether her rugs
are Oriental OF New Jersey. whether
she eats off Sevres or iron stone china
So. Il you Tnarry at man Of thirty. girls
you'n stand a very good chance Of never
having 10 buy q ticket for Reno.
Forty. though. IS an even better age
fo- husband than thirty because all Of
the advantages that a man Possessed at
thirty he still has at forty with two ad-
ditsOnal Qualifications that make his mat
TiEIoniaI stock a gilt edge security In
which a prudent woman may safely in
vest her happiness At forty a man Is
ftil capable Of being the perfect lover,