Page:The Truth about Marriage.djvu/115

 It may be that the other fellow has great ability and will some day come to the front, but how can one be sure of it? It is not pleasant to live in comparative social obscurity. And yet love is after all the indispensable thing in marriage.

For such a girl I would recommend that she take at least a week off and get away from her environment, get completely away from her lovers, and think the matter out frankly, doing justice to her own inner and higher nature.

It may be that she cannot very well get on without luxury. In that case let her sell herself to him who offers most in worldly goods. If she feels that she cannot make the sacrifice required to marry the poorer suitor, so much the better for him. However great his disappointment, it is better than marriage to the girl to whom wealth appeals more deeply than love.

My theory is that true marriage is a marriage of souls, and that each one of us has only one true mate in all the world, but to realize such a marriage one must be true to the highest instincts within one's nature.

Then there is the man that is faced by the possibility of marriage with either one of two girls who apparently love him, and for whom he has in each case a sincere regard. Which one shall he choose?