“Be good to her—and treat her like a queen”

A grateful son, long happily married, told in one short sentence what his father had said when he confided in his father concerning his coming marriage to a lovely girl. This his father said: “Be good to her—and treat her like a queen.”¹ What a simple, wonderful formula for a happy, loving home. And the same advice could be given to daughters concerning the men they are about to marry—or to whom they already are. “Be good to him—and treat him like a king.” The moonlight and music and shimmering romance are not likely to sustain themselves in the storybook sense, but something deeper and more enduring, something which basically holds the world together so far as gracious, solid, civilized living is concerned, can last a lifetime, an everlasting lifetime, and become more precious, deeper, more cherished each day. But it all requires unselfishness, respect, and common sense—and all of this requires character. Character is the essence of it all—of marriage, of culture, of education, of industry, of home, of happiness, even of heaven and the hereafter. Without character, responsibility, duty, honesty, staying with a bargain, facing up to facts—without these there is no basis for happiness in marriage, happiness at home, or happiness inside ourselves. Beauty fades, excitement subsides, and even a superabundance of material things can lose much of its satisfaction. But people who have purpose, who are willing to live for it, stay with it, to do their duty, to see things through; to be clean, considerate, orderly, and honest; to meet obligations, whether blessed with much or little, with beauty or plainness—with these the conscience can be quiet, the heartaches can be healed, the heart can be at peace, and home can be a happy place, a hallowed place, with love, respect, character, and kindness. “Be good to her—and treat her like a queen.” “Be good to him—and treat him like a king.”