And if marriage takes place before this period of probable immunity on the part of the bride arrives, the only safe thing to do is to “patiently wait” till such time arrives.  This may “require fortitude” on the part of both parties, but it is the only safe thing to do.  And to do just that, will amply repay such waiting.  The writer knows of a case where the wedding took place just three days before the bride’s next monthly was due, and she and her husband waited for more than two weeks before they met sexually!  But it paid to wait, for their doing so proved that the bride had two weeks of “free time” in each month, and this was worth all it cost to find out!  Take time!

And now let it be added that it is a great accomplishment for a husband and wife to be free from a fear of pregnancy as a result of coitus.  This is a thousand times truer for the woman than for the man, for it is she who has to bear the burden of what follows, if following there be.  The husband can “do the deed” and go about his business.  The wife, if “the fertile seed” takes root, has before her months of care and anxiety, and she risks her very life in what may come of it all.  For these reasons, she has a right to dictate all the terms which are liable to cause her to become a mother. And yet she should do this with full regard for the husband, in love, in true wifely-womanhood. On this point, do not fail to read “The Helpmate,” by May Sinclair.  It is a story that no bride and bridegroom should fail to read and study, carefully.

The whole subject of how to engage in satisfactory coitus and avoid pregnancy may be summed up as follows:—­The attainment of such a condition is well worth the most careful, earnest and honestly pains-taking endeavor.  For, if such status be not reached, its lack will be a source of endless contentions and differences between the husband and wife.  It will lead to jealousies, quarrels, and all sorts of marital woes.  But, the situation once mastered, by the most loving and accurate of scientific methods of procedure, a happy married life is certain to result.  Otherwise, the “married state” will always be in a condition of “unstable equilibrium.”  So let every bride and bridegroom begin, from the first, to try to establish the greatly to be desired accomplishment.  If anything further on this point should be desired, consult a reliable physician.

VIII

THE ART OF LOVE

And still there is more to be said!  Is it not written that “Art is long!” And the Art of Love is the longest of all arts, and the most difficult of all for its complete mastery and attainment!

It is a matter of misfortune, and yet one of not infrequent occurrence, that the sex organs of husband and wife are not well matched; and that trouble, sometimes of a most serious nature, results.  When this condition is found to exist, it should be treated sanely and wisely, and the chances are many to one that the difficulty can be overcome, to the full satisfaction of both parties concerned.