The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1913-12-25
SUCCESS VS.. HAPPINESS.
Whyf

"hyg
Because there AMT NO SUCH
THING"
Now. IN making such a sweeping state
ment. I would not wish to be understood
as declaring that there are no successful
marriages. Perish the thought! On the
contrary. the great majority OF marriages
are highly successful. Indeed, j shall go
further than that and give II as my opin-
ion that marriage. per sc. Is Just about
the most successful Institution ever con-
ceived and executed by the mind OF man.
1t stands 10 reason that II must be so.
else IT would not obtain with the powerful
force II does.
The trouble Is that we are likely to
confuse the term successful with the term
happy, whereas they have not necessarily
the slightest relation one 10 the other. So
while l enthusiastically acclaim most
marriages as successful. in one and the
same breath l deplore that none Of us
are happy-that is. really. genuinely. ro-
mantically happy.
l am aware that any number OF good
persons will protest at this heresy. 1t is
one OF the polite tictions OF our civiliza-
ton to go up to the housetop and with
the aid OF a megaphone proclaim HOW
HAPPY WE ARE. THOUGH MARRIED.
At the same time those same persons know
in their hearts that the thing they call
happiness is at the best only contentment.
resignation. acquiesence They know, just
as well as you and do. that the only
way to continue happy IN the love of any
man or any woman is to marry the other
chap or the other girl.
Nobody knows This better than that wise
widow Mrs. Brinton. whose role Mr.. David
Belasco has allotted 70 me In his produc-
ton OF Years of Discretion" at the Be-
lasco Theatre. To the many who have
seen this play It has been a source OF
marry her devoted sutton of ten and odd
years standing. There is no doubt OF
John Strong's love for her, or OF the en-
during nature OF his affection.
So. too. is she equally In love with him.
So much 50 that in ten years time there
has been no other man In her thoughts
He is wealthy, handsome, well placed So
cially-in short. he is a catch for any
woman however exacting. however am
bilious. And yet, Margaret Brinton stead
lastly refuses TO marry him.
She does not want to exchange her
lover for her husband. AS have al
ready said, she is q wise woman, Mrs.
| Brinton. You cannot eat your cake and
have 1t, too" might be taken as her motto.
II you were to ask this accomplished and
fascinating mondaine what is the proper
age to marry, do you know what she
would do? Why. she would shrug her
| shoulders, raise her eyebrows into a high
| !nquiring arch. look al you out Of the
| depths OF serpent-wise eyes and laugh
| laugh as only the seasoned, ripened woman
OF the world who is perfectly sure Of her
self can laugh.
In the tones Of that low. we'll bred laugh
you would read volumes of meaning. II
would bring home to you better than any
/ argument how utterly absurd such a ques-
ton was, anyway. AS II there were or
could be any proper age to marry! As II
marrying at any age. whether at nine
teen or ninety, were not the height OF
folly II in so doing one were looking for
happiness.
\ Being the aforesaid wise woman that she
is. Mrs Brinton knows what an increas.
ingly large number of women in real life
are fast learning, to wit, that the royal
road to happiness is not to be found in
marriage. Because these enlightened
women have attained to this point OF view
Is not to be interpreted as any prejudice
whatever on their part against marriage
as a necessary and valuable institution