The Washington times., 1922-08-06
Hall Caine, Analysing
Marriage Snarl, IsNot
Sure of Vows Worth

never thought Of the marriage
ceremony without a shudder. Writ
ing to a friend who announced her
intention of marrying. she said:
"The triumphal-p procession air
which, tn our manners and Gus
toms, is given to marriage at the
= outset-thdt singing of te dettrn
before the battle has begun
has, ever since could reflect,
struck me as something sense
less and something impious.
IF ever one Is to pray, u
eVer one is to feel grave and
dn1ious, ever one is to shrek
from Uain shoV and babble-
surely it is j,tst on the occasion
Of tt0o human beings binding
Themselves 10 one another, for
better or. for Vorse, till death
part them; just on that occasion
which IL is customary TO ceLs-
brate only Nth. rejoicings and
congratulations and trottsseaur
and White ribbons! Good God"
Wedding Deeply Moving Sight.
This is terribly true, and no in
structed priest will resent 1t. Let
him recall the stark and searching
words Of his beautiful marriage serv.
ice (so deadly true to the first pur.
pose Of marriage, although lately the
subject Of such senseless criticisn),
and ask himself II, instead of going
to church to be married in gay
clothes with bouquets Of flowers and
gayly-dressed bridesmaids, a young
couple with q right sense Of what
they were doing might not be- ex.
cused If they went alone except for
their Witnesses, and in their nearest
approach to sackcloth and ashes.
Nobody in his senses wants that,
for even a modern religious wedding,
Notwithstanding all its falseness OF
mise-en-scene Is deeply moving
Spectacle.
1t is said that every happy bride
cries at her wedding, and no wonder.
Consciously or unconsciously she Is
taking her part in the most nomen-
tous fact OF life--a fact compared
with which all royal pageants. all
coronations and state ceremonies, all
making OF ministries and openings
OF parliaments are but as dust and
ashes-she is taking her part in the
everlasting drama of the continued
race.
To see a good girl making her
vows to her husband before the altar
Of God and in the presence OF nearly
all her little world, to love and honor
him. to cling to him through storm
and sunshine, In poverty and In
wealth, in sickness and In health, and
above all to bear his children, Is TO
witness the most tremendous event
in human existence.
Yet II happens in every country
every day. And just because the
religious ceremony OF marriage Ia
20 profoundly moving, especially to
the woman. just because 1t occupies
such an outstanding place in her
life, it is an immense security
against the breaking OF the insti
tuition on which the welfare OF
civilized life chiefly depends.
But these undoubted facts OF the
value Of law and religion in the
making Of marriage need not blind
us to the other and still greater
fact that marriage is a personal
contract, that its origin and respon'
sibiltty are with the man and
woman who make It, and that law
and religion too often contribute
TO the injury OF marriage by claim
ing to create II.
This may be a hard saying. but
take the case Of nullity.
NEXT SUNDAY Sir Hall
Game Urites of DIVORCE.
The eminent author is frank to
confess that recently he has been
forced to change his long-estdb-
lished convictions on this grave
problem. His reconstructed
conclusions pill furnish mater
ial for iOidespread discussion.