DON'T MARRY HIM TO REFORM HIM.
Don't marry a man to reform him.
To God and your own self be true.
Don't link his vice to your virtue;
You'll rue it, dear girl, if you do. No matter how fervent his pleadings,
Be not by his promises led;
If he can't be a man while a-wooings,
He'll never be one when he's wed. There's many a maiden has tried it,
And proved it a failure at last;
Better tread your life's pathway alone, dear,
Than to wed a lover that's "fast." Mankind's much the same the world over;
The exceptions you'll find are but few;
And the rule is defeat and disaster;
The chances are great against you. Don't trust your bright hopes for the future,
The beautiful crown of your youth;
To the keeping of him who holds lightly
His fair name of honor and truth. To "honor and love" you must promise;
Don't pledge what you can't fulfill.
If he'll have no respect for himself, dear,
Most surely you, then, never will. Make virtue the price of your favor;
Place wrongdoing under a ban;
And let him who would win you and wed you
Prove himself in full measure a man.
—Selected.