Year: 1866

Choosing wife is no such puzzling eng
ma as it used to be, before the lights of
modern science shone across this nineteenth
century of ours. If you marry an angel,
and discover afterward that she is some
thing very far removed from the supernal,
you have only to thank yourself for it
You might have read thedormant existence
of those very repellant traits of character
that broke upon you like thunder-bolts, in
the conformation of the pretty head, the
shape of the polished forehead, the curve of
the stately neck. You might have seen the
flash of temper in her eyes, the acerbity
of her close lips, the iron will of the square
chin. Nature inscribes herself plainly
enough in face and brain, and if you do
not take tho trouble to read the signs and
tokens, why you have only to make the
best of the bargain.


Nor DOVE believe in long courtships.-
Jacob must have been very remarkable
individual not to have got heartily tired of
Miss Rachael long before those fourteen
years ordeal had transpired; and we have
no proofs that Rachael was not waning in
to a confirmed old maid while Jacob was
earning her. Don't wait to make your
fortune, young lover. If you are not rich
in money, you have stores of strength and
youth, and warm, fresh love; and with
these gone, you would be poor indeed,
though you revelled in the wealth of John
Jacob Astor. Therefore, if you love a wo-
man, and she is worthy of your affection,
marry her, and trust to God, and your own
strong right arm to bring the world to rec
ognize the wisdom of your choice.


As for all the current nonsense on the
subject of selecting wife," our shrewd
opinion is that it is only nonsense. Fancy
young gentleman prying into his IMAM
orata's house before breakfast to ascertain
whether or not her collar was pinned cor
rectly, OF her hair brushed geometrically
straight. Picture him descending upon
her at all sorts of certain and uncertain
hours to find out whether she made bread
or played the piano, and if there was any
dust on her center-table. If he has moi
Judgment enough to make his selection
without any such extraneous aids, we opine
that his intellect can scarcely be of the
highest ORDER


Yet there are some keen disappointment
| in this business of matrimonial choice
A man who marries pretty girl under i
sort of transitory enchantment, is very apt
when the honeymoon is over, to discoye
that she is only mortal after all, and con
slider himself rather in the light of
wronged individual. The pretty girl, too
begins to see that her lover is neither NOR
nor less than a man; it is possible that sh,
has grave reflections on the subject. Thu
it requires considerable amount Of phi
Iosophy to survive the first months of mat
rimony without what are called slower
| duarrels." Yet there is Il love strOn!
and broad enough and deep enough t.
bear up all imperfections and shortcoming
on its resistless current. Now and then W
chance on marriage based on just sucl
love as this, union whose links brighter
as the wears 90 on, and are cemented eyel
more strongly in the world "where ther
| is neither marriage nor giving In marriage
| While there are summers and winters
seedtimes and harvest there will be pei
petual repetition of the old sweet story G
love and courtship. 1t is as it should be
Let there be no false modesty, no mis-
placed hesitation on the subject. Co
meant his children to be happy in tn
spring time of their lives; shall we hid
away the good gifts of love and apprecia
ton which He has given us?-Phrenolog
icaI Journal