A CHAPTER FOR YOUNG MEN 419 



manner in which this step is taken, and it is to be hoped 

 that some means may be devised by which this grow- 

 ing evil may be checked. 



We do not propose to offer a long homily on the 

 subject of marriage, but have a few words of advice 

 which may possibly be of service. 



1. Be careful to prepare for marriage by making 

 yourself worthy of a good, pure woman. Cultivate 

 honesty, sincerity, and purity of thought and manners, 

 and a generous variety of those graces and qualities 

 which serve to make up a good and useful man. 



2. Do not allow yourself to be captivated by fine 

 clothes and a pretty face, or a piquant manner and an 

 artful smile. All these qualities are superficial, and 

 not correct guides to form an estimate of character. 

 Seek real moral worth, real solidity of character, genu- 

 ineness, sincerity, faithfulness, and simplicity. These 

 are qualities which will form a firm, substantial basis 

 for genuine affection. 



3. Avoid a young woman devoted to fashion; who 

 finds her chief enjoyment in balls, theaters, and fash- 

 ionable dissipation. Young women of this class are 

 in a state of ill health mentally and morally, and usually 

 physically, and are utterly deficient in the qualities 

 essential to the making of a good wife. 



4. We may also suggest the importance of health, 

 of physical and mental adaptation, of proper relation 

 as regards age; but these are all points which will 

 readily occur to the mind of any young man possessed 

 of a fair share of good judgment and common sense, 

 and need not be dwelt upon here. 



The Young Husband.— After you have married 

 a lady and pledged yourself in the most solemn man- 

 ner to love, cherish, and protect her, see to it that you 



