they
are to be happy. Attention should be paid in particular to not
allowing habit, "the worst foe of married happiness," to become too
well established in the home, and to cultivate that love and affection
which survives the decline of the sexual faculties.

THE IDEAL MARRIAGE

The ideal marriage is the one in which affection combines to bring
happiness to both partners in a sane union of sex and soul. As one
commentator has rather unhappily expressed it: "When married the
_battle_ for one united and harmonious life really begins!" It is,
indeed, but too often a _battle_! Forbearance, consideration and
respect must be the foundation on which the ideal married state is
built. The husband should realize that his wife's love for him induces
her to allow privileges of a personal nature which her innate chastity
and timidity might otherwise refuse. In return, he should accept these
privileges with consideration. He should, in particular, on his
wedding night, take care not to shock his young bride's sensibilities.
He may easily give her a shock from which she will not recover for
years, and lead her to form an antipathy against the very act which is
"the bond and seal of a truly happy married life."

BIRTH CONTROL

Material changes have taken place in the birth-rate of a number of
countries during the past fifteen or twenty years which cannot be
attributed to purely economic causes. They do not seem to depend on
such things as trade, employment and prices; but on the spread of an
idea or influence whose tendency must be deplored, that of "birth
control," a phrase much heard in these days.

The fact that a decline in human fertility and a falling birth rate
are most noticeable in the relatively prosperous countries is a proof
that it does not proceed from economic causes; but is due rather to
the spread of the doctrine that it is permissible to restrict or
control birth. In such countries as the United States, England and
Australasia, where the standards of human comfort and living are
notoriously high, the decline in the birth rate has been most
noticeable. On the other hand, we find perhaps the greatest decline in
the birth rate in France, a country where the general well-being
probably reaches a lower depth in the community than in any other part
of Europe. A comparison of the birth rates of France and of Ireland,
for example, offer a valuable illustration