e of husband or
wife, especially the latter, should be largely influenced by this
consideration. The step-father is not held in such disfavour as the
step-mother, probably because his relations with the young people are
not so intimate.

The Widow.

A genial student of womankind says: "A little widow is a dangerous
thing! She knows not only her own sex but the other too, and knowledge
is power. She is experienced, accessible, and free, and withal fatally
fascinating. There is a great charm in loving a woman who is versed in
the lore of love, and is practised in all the sleight-of-heart tricks
of it." Her courtship is more untrammelled than that of a {115} single
woman. Her position is all in her favour. If she is very young, she
will probably have a companion, or live with some relative. If she has
small children they can afford a very convenient element of propriety
when a lover comes to woo.

She does not always have a second engagement ring; she may prefer some
other trinket. It is also a matter of taste whether she retain her
first wedding-ring in its place or not. If she decides to banish it
she should do so before going to be married.

Dress.

Grey is no longer the compulsory shade for a widow's wedding frock.
Any light, delicate colour may be worn; but a woman has only one
_white_ wedding and one bridal veil in her life. The widow is not
supposed to make a display over her wedding. An air of somewhat
chastened joy is considered more suitable. Instead of bridesmaids she
has one lady attendant who should be in her place in church before the
bride arrives, and be ready to move to her side when required, to take
the gloves and bouquet (which should not be composed of purely white
flowers, nor is orange blossom permissible). There may be a second
edition of the wedding cake and the presents, but favours and floral
tributes are things of the past.

The Home.

If the widow has a nice home of her own she and her husband may decide
to live in it; but he will need to exercise tact in taking up his
position as master of a household that has hitherto gone on quite well
without him. An entire change of servants would probably be advisable
if not inevitable. The wife would be careful to give him his full
dignity, and not to let it appear that he was to be regarded in the
light of a pensioner on her bounty.

The Widower.

A man whose wife dies leaving him with young children, or even one
baby, is in a most