ife, what are we going to do? How shall we live?" Wife. "Oh, my dear,
we shall get along very well, I am sure; you love me, don't you?" H.
"Certainly, dear, but we cannot live on love." W. "We can live on bread
and water; so long as we have each other, it doesn't matter much what
we have to eat." "That's so, my dear; well, you furnish the bread, and
I will skirmish around after the water." This exact dialogue may never
have taken place; but the circumstances which might have called it out
have occurred thousands of times. How many times has a dependent woman
who had hastily married an improvident husband awakened at the end of
a short honeymoon to find that she had only a limber stick or a broken
reed to lean upon, instead of a self-reliant, independent,
self-sustaining man, able to provide for her the comforts of a home
and to protect her from the rudeness and suffering of privation and
want.

In our estimation it is as much a sin for a man to assume the obligation
of caring for a wife and family when he has no reasonable grounds for
believing himself able to do so, as for a man to go in debt a few hundreds
or thousands of dollars, and agree to pay the same when required, though
perfectly well aware that he will probably be unable to do so. Hence
we say again, with emphasis, the improvident should not marry; and we
shall insist upon urging this truth, notwithstanding the fact that the
very class of persons referred to are usually of all classes the most
anxious to enter the matrimonial state at the earliest possible moment,
and the most certain to bring into the world large families of children
still more improvident than themselves.

_11. Do not marry a person whose moral character will not bear the
closest scrutiny._

By this we do not mean that absolute perfection should be required,
as this would interdict marriage altogether; but we wish to warn every
young man against marrying a young woman who treats lightly or
contemptuously matters which should be treated with profound respect;
who uses the name of Deity flippantly or rudely; who treats her parents
disrespectfully; who never cares to talk of subjects of a spiritual
nature; who is giddy, gay, dressy, thoughtless, fickle. Such a young
woman will never make a loving, patient, faithful, helpful wife.

We wish also to warn every young woman against choosing for a husband
a man who has a strong leaning toward infidelity; who does not believe
in human responsibil