SEXUAL HYGIENE 185 



I will skirmish around after the water." This exact 

 dialogue may never have taken place; but the circum- 

 stances which might have called it out have occurred 

 thousands of times. How many times has a dependent 

 woman, who had hastily married an improvident hus- 

 band, awakened at the end of a short honejTnoon 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 com- 

 forts 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 him- 

 self 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, not- 

 withstanding 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 hear 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 the Deity 



