p. 510 | WHY DID YOU WED? by Mary Alice Hare Loper

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Aug 17, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 32.

WHY DID YOU WED?

By Mary Alice Hare Loper

By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

Why did you wed? The question comes to those Who have at some time bowed at Hymen's shrine In search of selfish happiness or gain, But failed most sadly in the vain attempt.

Some wed for fame who long have now deplored The glittering bauble which was but a snare, A treacherous trap to catch unwary souls. Some wed for wealth, in hope of finding thus True happiness; and some in jest Have uttered holy vows which meant no more Than the rehearsing of an idle tale. Some wed for title — most ignoble thought! — Who later on were wrecked upon the sea Of life, and drifted far apart. And some, To escape the odium heaped on maidenhood, To gain a home, perchance, or to secure Relief from daily toil, made promises That could not last where love itself was not. Some, when mere children, scorning the advice Of loving friends and parents most sincere, Took sacred vows most thoughtlessly, to them Empty romance, all soon to be forgot. Some wear the mask of marriage for the sake Of business, or pecuniary gain, Who, tiring of the lifelong partnership, Think to dissolve, and thus be free once more. While many kiss the grave of buried hopes, Not one with selfish aims finds happiness. Frail barks are wrecked, and strewn along the shores Of time are scattered many precious links Of family circles — woeful sight!

But hark! “We wed for love,” an aged couple said, “For pure and simple, true, old-fashioned love. More sacred grow the ties each passing year, Which since the sunny days of youth have bound Our hearts together. Neither wealth nor fame Are ours, but we tread the path of peace, Of mutual joy, which leads us both to heaven.”