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Show m- Dorothy Dix Talks I 111 CHOOSING A WIFE H1 1 j ljy DOROTHY DIX, the World 's Highest Paid Woman Writer jPsi' CHOOSING A WIFE. flHIl A young man asks mo to give him I a few tips on how .to scloct a wife. r Tho best advise that I can offer any youth contemplating matrimony is to go of! to some quiet spot and have a heart-to-heart session, with himself, and honestly try to find out what manner of man he really is, and what he aspires to be and to do in tho world. With this data in hand it is easy enough to pick out tho right girl instead in-stead of one who will keep a man wondering won-dering to his dying day what made him do it, and where the fool killer was when he led the lady he did to tho altar. "Know thyself' is never such a good slogan as when a man Is choosing choos-ing a life partner, for tho trouble with most unhappy marriages Is merely that they are misfit marriages. Tho wife who drives one man to drink would have lifted another into the Seventh Heaven of connubial bliss. She who rasps the nerves of one husband at even' turn would make a soothing sooth-ing and congenial companion to anoth- 1! Men to Blame. J0- And these uncongenial marriages -rs ire more the men's fault than the tjop women's, for men do the picking and jM choosing, and it is their poor judg- j. meat, and lack of knowledge of what Jy they need, and what will suit thorn , j in the wlfo line that keeps Reno on "7. tho map, and the divorce court busy. , Therefore, son, when you think war about marriage, don't waste any tlm Hfl worrying over the girl. Worry over of I yourself a little. Consider your own jj J character, disposition, financos, ambi- J tions and prospects and let this cvho knowledge be a lamp to your foet when er ypu go a-wooing. :ord Suppose, for Instance, you are of a U) nervous, Irritable disposition, with a olle temper that is hung on a hair trig- alld gcr and liable to go off at any mo- hMg ment. Can't you see that matrimony H for you will be nothing but a dark and bloody battle ground if you mar-r- jV ry some beautiful slender creaturo jH with thin lips, and quivering nostrils, . iH and lovely auburn hair? Whereas it will be oue grand sweet JK song If you have gumption enough J'Hi to pick out for a -wlfo Borac plump, HM placid maiden with ox-liko cyca and jHI a nice, fat laugh. i,rH Woman for woman, the two girls KjHI may be equally models of all the vir- RH lues, but the high strung one will IHl keep you always up to concert pilch, RHI v-i whllo the good nature of the other fBr will poultico your sore nerves and I'lH soothe them, and her optimism' be a fiB perpetual tcnlc to you. With one you lH will live Bcrapplly. With the other happily, for there is not room but for flH one set of nerves, and one case of dis- Hf pepsia in any home. fB JLook Into Your Soul. Suppose when you look .Into your H' own woul you admit to yourself that while you are not In tho least vain, or egotistic, still you can not deny that you aro a man of most unusual intellect, and of a Judgment as pro-H. pro-H. found that it Is entitled to respect on j every occasion. H V'IM you find happiness if you mar- ry some opinionated young pel-son wlio j ; Is firmly convinced that she is tbe latest Incarnation of Mrs. Solomon,! and who considers that a wife's placo j in the home Is to rule the roost, and! tell her husband just where he getsi r.'. off and stay off? I trow not, ,yY,ou know Plenty of men who wipe' - their feet on the door mat before I they dare to enter their own doml- cile. and who jump every tlmo their! whes speak to them. Can you see urself qualifying in the hon-pocked brigade, and following meekly in wife's wake'.' I i Then why not pass by the snappy HUf-- giri Vi.h0 run3 everybody and ovcry-thing ovcry-thing in her vicinity, and whose par-iH par-iH cnts tremble before her, and espouse tho timid little maiden who believes all men are oracles, and rule by dl-ivJne dl-ivJne right, and who will be perfectly .'happy sitting at your feet gathering I up tno pearls of wisdom that drop 'from your llp3. And you will be happy, hap-py, too, for one unquestioning admlr. er is as much as any of us get in life. . , . , Suppose you are a poor young fellow wlth'your'fortuno to make. To achieve success means that you must live plainly and economize while you are getting a start. Girls Who Waste. j Do you think that you will stay ;long in love with a fashion plate girl no matter how stunning she looks, if 'she wastes your money, and keeps you in debt, and thwarts your ambitions The argument over money is a two- . edged sword that can cut the bond between be-tween it husband and wife quicker i than anything else on earth. ! But if you marry a girl who Is willing will-ing to work and economize and put every ounce of her own ,cnergy and ambition in your career who thinks it fun to build your fortune with you, then you have got a wife for keeps, for she Is business partner as well. You will be happy and contenved with such a woman for there is no stronger tie between two people than to be vitally vi-tally interested In the same thing. Nor do any husband an1 wife ever bore ! each nthni- whnn lhv r-nn t,,llr nvni the state of the stock market or grocer;." groc-er;." trade together. Suppose you have dreams of being a great lawyer, or a famous doctor, or of filling some big political office Then look beyond the girl's, pretty face, and try to see what is in her head. Tho time will come when your wife's brain will mean moro than her complexion to you, for you can camouflage camou-flage a complexion but there's no known substitute for good, hard horse sense. ' "Would Tills Help? Do you think It will help you on as a lawyer to bo tied to an ambition less woman who weeps end thlnk3 herself neglected every time you want to study of an evening instead of lidding lidd-ing her hand? Will it Increase your practice as a doctor to have a Jealous fool for a wlfo who Imagines you are making love to your female patients? Will it help you to win elections to have a tactless, blunderer of a wife who makes enemies where sho should make frjends? Rather not! So If you wish to be happy und successful though married, choose the cleverest, and most ambitious ambi-tious woman you know, no matter If sho is as homely as sin, In preference to tho peach who is content lo do nothing but just hang on the tree. I am saying nothing against the woman without ambition, or tho nervous ner-vous woman, or the high tempered woman, or the bossy woman. Thero aro men whom they would Just suit. There are easy going men who don't want a wife who Is not contented to stay put. Just as they aro. There arc men who delight In -working them, selves to death ho that their wives may be gorgeously dressed. Thero aro 1 shiftless mon who need a high tempered tem-pered woman to prod them along. There aro even men who like to be hen-pecked. It's all a matter of taste-. I'm only urging you, son. to find; out in which class you belong before you marry, and to pick out the girl, accordingly. |
