UNKNOWN

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 401, 14 January 1904, Page 7

UNKNOWN

eoau<times 'frisky' 1 One bannot! h.fclp ;' j - but wpadcr wore those poor p»oplß?fi»tffe il ried before they tricaolee of their A B 0 1 surely some special provision of 3fatar« m wad made, or how oonld'tney the toil of anpervißing a family, for tireaty yearatirxiso footing deboaaai ■:■ '■■ , , • ■ ' '■■ -. ■ dearl* i«>*ae reply, ia theirifteelas almost, and had an ■' awral time at flrat, as oboroft - oy something, •aiid'ftre^lright^Jß^fe^''• ' ■• '■.,. So far,,eo does not'•'• get a legacy, ffiim otn be no doubt of tha ..hug i number Oftmariied girls one xa jets—niie yirl of -te-day is every where.'-' a'eithor>;i». ofctfat 'all. at being aa ttnatfca'oted' poreon, '' ' So let na ' picture' a girl, any age between twt?asy.*»d twenty-seven, and face the matter £<juhrly„,•/• , for, time to .twenty is .so;/taken up #lth extra a fiaiehing tocehoo, that she "is hardly ia thy full swim oi growa-aps for a coupfe of yeaTe. t i, _ Paraon*llJ|p, I would not allow any giri to marry years' 'of age, Pbr ohe^reaaon,; medical authoritias; are agreed that a girl's bonaa are sot properly sdlidifldd she ~;kbaohba ( that agoj therefore,'it is batter^tb^her'to enter ph. > , a new statb with her"health "-fally'-eatab-,, 1 lished than while hsr ooristitation ratnaiss uuisettled. And' I wouldr prefer . twenty-three, a3 the eatliest^agj^.for.:;"at'; woman to marry, and fpr a mian. v**, .■Timb to Look 'Bonsnj j Why P Well, between eighteen and twenty three the average; girl in average circumßtancea h»a not only time to look around her, but also to make, and probably remake, > her , opiaipaa on many mattora time and, again. She has time to let tne -wprld-glasaour fade from her eyae, and to bapomo able to see things as they ire and not as they eeem to be Time, . also, to travel, if possible, to obtain oil knowledge' of thought j time to make ' ■ and enjoy ona'a-friends, if thiit gift is granted her} time, also, to leara all the ins and outs appertaining to a house—at "" her leiaare—and not try to cram it all hastily into a f e?7;, months, bseEuse she.is going to be married, •: That kind of knowledge is very little use, beoauae it ■ has not Men built upon experience, . I think it must have been a girl of the JBort';ii here who wiaa oace listening 'to: of a ; 'V, little man most beautifully dressed in '& velvet and feathprs and sword. But . evidently ahe—like .Elapeth MapfapjjpSl- - her dbots„'lbr she aaka: * **

- .'Will the ta4e?;that"you are spinning Light a fire in &e Mfchen P J* And the little god of love ■' Tarn the spit, spit, spit P' . , She may have been horribly practical* while he was bubbling over, with romance? but, believe me, ohe had learned by experience that 'the buicher, the baker, and the candlestiek-maker' are all people who like their bills promptly paid and aocountr evenly kept. ■"•'' ■' '■-■: •'■;;■' ... -;■ Granted that the girl of nineteen and the boy, of twenty -two have abundance of this world's gear,'and that poverty is .never likely even to look their side o£ the {road; still I keep to my twenty-throe theory*- -' \ *. -'-' ' . ; For they are both immature. '• The man, if ever he means to be a man, should be gaining a footing in the world. B/tha time hei is twenty-seven ha also will have, knocked about, aasongt many mas, and had some corners knocked off, he will have talked' with chosen friends lof all things in heaven and earth; find [ when he has , proved himself a man '"~- | capable of using bis means and powers ; aright bocause of chs knowledgaJjA aaa i gathered, then—haste tolthe •wadding s^JU< i _ all mean! ' ' •. H* r , MaBEISD WOWAN'S Llfjß. And -the girl of nineteen, poor thing! ! You would take her from her happy.go- : luck life, from being the darling of the. I houaahold and the pride and light of her parents' eyes, and immerse-her in the thousand worries and troubles of housekeeping and servants—worries which, in ; three or four years, would be as nothing So her 5 thecarais (and the joys) of babies, the endeavour to please her husband,.to ! ireopthat. good cook, rectify that stupid housemaid's mistakes, get a new nurse for 1 baby, and oe genera l ly up to date and. smart all round. All this, at a time when she should be playiag badminton, or helping at bazatre, or cultivating her i special talent, and letting her nature enlarge and fructify in the sweet in- ; finance of honve and her parents' careful ' i watching. ' •, . ■ ; ; 'i ■■' . ■; : '.' \ I And lam sure both these people will I i have higher views, of new. *nd think moie of the responsibilities they I are undertaking than the callow boy and < girl who are "in love,* and think that the bettvens will fall or the earth be dissolved before they ooneumate their hearts* desire. . ; ' ' v ' ! .'"'.

| The girl who has reached the age of i twenty-eight, and is still unmafced, will, ' it' th«re; be any good in her, iuve found i her solo, have decided on her metier,' and will cultivate it, and make her days a, jay to herself and others, instead of a burden,- .";.:;' ■ '.'*.'.'.•■ It; is because so many have done this that the word 'old maid' has baoome almost - obsolete, for the life-giving proper ties of Work (a capital W, please) renew her fading beauty, and revive her. , failing interestiaall around her. ''■■' Twenty-threa plus twenty-eight equals a happy marriage, and, if it. was adhered' to, there would "'be fewer" unhappy • matches, provided always—lot me whinpsr it inyour ear P—provided always that. ; the little god of love holds the ring, ring, '.''■•■■ nag..;-:,.:.:/';;;' ■■'■ ■ w ■'■■■■'"■