AFTER-THE-WAR MARRIAGES.

A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE

By^ HILDA M. LOVE

Who predicts that after the war girls will no longer stipulate for conventional standards of comfort before embarking on marriage.

Lbve and marriage are still the most treasured dream of the business girl. She does not picture herself in Jho future as the moving spirit of some great business house, swaying its fortunes and its employees; but she does picture herself as the head of some small home, sv;aying the heart of one man withhi.it.

She has never swerved in her loyalty to the oldest and sweetest dream. in the world, but, like most • othiir things, the war has altered the j.setting of this dream in one far-reaching :c----spect — she now thinks more of the riches of a mans' heart and less of the riches of bis pocket. Before the autumn of 1914 circumstances had led business girls—and who of our generation isn't a business girl nowadays?—to expect their lovers to pi'ovide for them as comfortable a home as the one from which they proposed to take them. It was, although we did n^b always realise it, a most unfair demand to make of men at the beginning, of their careers. .

But we were toj comfortable 1o make sacrifices, so we coolly hesitated before' relinquishing our positions and marrying "a- man who could not give us the variety and comfort to which we had been accustomed. Rather than brave the economies and the anticipated' monotony of married life on a small salary we preferred to let ta<? marriage.age steadily rise thirty,..so long ; 3 we obtained all those 'little veneers that stood to us for comfort and happiness. '. Meantime., the most tjprscipus years of life slipped away while waiting for the showy'house, the maid, the imitation Jacobean furniture and the appearances on which" Vo placed such value.

Even while Are pitied, we envied the courage of those girla who' made 'he great adventure without' these accessories.

But the, gceat majority of us nad reached tlie--pbmt,-.-af^which: >ye wanJ^ cd1 to'start where our paireiits lei't off. We dreaded that people might say, "She's_ not doing very well for herself," if we started in a humble way; and, to be honest, we hsd no desire" r,e curtail the.outings, the clothes and the liberty we enjoyed. The men themselves could not always see why wj stipulated for certain conventional standards before we married, but they agreed to these standards of ours because they could see that we should not be happy, without them.

But when the war, with its tremendous upheaval, came into' our lives ?t dislodged these beliefs wth a crash. Tb.3 marriage accessories on which we had laid such stress and placed''such value suddenly appeared to-us very pitif'il and contemptible when balanced against great issues; we already regretted wasted years. From this newknowledge of ours the war bride was evolved. ■,

All the veneers for wliich she had formerly, striven wero. now/worthless j«

her sight—she Was prepared to use her youth, her energy, her strength, iier brains, to make her new'home "a-thing of beauty and comfort on an income that she would formerly have thought impossible. The, fear of Avar had taken all fear of married monotony from he w ; the care of her household held unanticipated interests, economy became a duty, rot a1 bore; she realised her national importance as the wife of a fighting man arid as a future mother.

She was no longer a woman shirkm<> the responsibilities of marriage on a small income, but a woman willing to do her part, thankful for the love in her life, perpared to suffer if necessary. That is the atsitude of.the war wives, and that is the attitude that wnl

!)t? evinced by the after-the-war'wives. The men we love have been •bni to face death and danger for us; and they in their war atmospheres, and we iri our offices, shops, factories arid: homes have come to the same conclusion- — that love is the greatest tiling in'life, and that obstacles we raised to its fulfilment in other days were not worthy *of it or-of us. ■ When the men come home— God grant it may be soon!—they will find the girl they left behind deeper an 3 stronger in her affection, with greater courage in her heart, and with determination in her mind to marry her man in the springtime of youth and to plan and work through 'the lean years with him/ instead of waiting until his finest and most virile years have been spaiu in smoothing • the path before she has the courage to step by his side., The striving for veneer has vanished —M)ur hearts are now dictating to as as well as our heads. .

HILDA M. LOVE