Of those again, who marry out of the society, there may be individuals,
so attached to its communion, that it was never imagined they would have
acted in this manner. Now of these, it may in general be said, that they
often bitterly repent. They find, soon or late, that the opposite
opinions and manners, to be found in their union, do not harmonize. And
here it may be observed, that it is very possible, that such persons may
say they repent without any crimination of their wives. A man, for
instance, may have found in his wife all the agreeableness of temper,
all the domestic virtue and knowledge, all the liberality of religious
opinion, which he had anticipated; but in consequence of the mixed
principles resulting from mixed marriages, or of other unforeseen
causes, he may be so alarmed about the unsteady disposition of his
children and their future prospects, that the pain which he feels on
these accounts may overbalance the pleasure, which he acknowledges in
the constant prudence, goodness, solicitude, and affection, of his wife.
This may be so much the case, that all her consolatory offices may not
be able to get the better of his grief. A man, therefore, in such
circumstances, may truly repent of his marriage, or that he was ever the
father of such children, though he can never complain as the husband of
such a wife.
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