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been treated with stronger and more philosophic con- 

 sideration in an essay called * Marriage,' which I 

 mentioned before, in Sir Henry Taylor's ' Notes from Life.' 

 His essay has the additional advantage of being addressed 

 to both men and women, which is certainly to be desired. 

 He begins with a quotation from Webster's play, in 

 which the Duchess of Malf y asks : ' What do you think of 

 marriage ? ' and Antonio answers : 



' I take it as those that deny purgatory ; 

 It locally contains or heaven or hell ; 

 There is no third place in it.' 



Sir Henry Taylor goes on to say that when he was 

 young he did not agree with this, but that increase of 

 years made him think Antonio's view the correct one. 

 It seems to me that the last fifty years have wrought a 

 considerable change in these matters. Nowadays members 

 of society, so far as I am acquainted with them, consider 

 it very inconsistent with their own dignity to admit that 

 marriage has turned out * hell ' for them, and see that a 

 more philosophical attitude of mind enables them to 

 expect less and really find a great deal of happiness on 

 the lines of the quotation at the conclusion of Lady 

 Malmesbury's article : ' Two are better than one ; because 

 they have a good reward for their labour. For if they 

 fall, the one will lift up his fellow ; but woe to him that is 

 alone when he faileth, for he hath not another to help him 

 up.' In my youth I used to think that the gain in 

 marriage was almost entirely on the woman's side ; but as 

 I grow older I am inclined to think the advantages and 

 the disadvantages to men and women are nearly equal. 



The crux of the whole position as regards the girl seems 

 to me to be hinted by Lady Jeune when she implies that the 

 mother should take the matter into her own hands if 

 not of making, at any rate of unmaking, marriages. And 



