"Merry or not,widows are healthier without a husband",

A study,carried out by The University of Padua Italy, followed 733 Italian men and 1,154 women for four and a half years. It had come to a conclusion,that marriage may be good for men,but not so good for their wives. Widows were about 23 per cent less likely to be frail,than married women. If a woman outlives her husband,it is apparently often because he was ill and she had nursed him till his death.Then,the burden gone, she thrives.                                                   A man is not so lucky,having usually had everything done for him throughout the marriage,he is often helpless, when the wife passes away before him. Death of one partner in a marriage can bring quite a relief to the other person, if the relationship is not happy.                                               Long time ago my husband and I had employed a carpenter,whom we trusted implicitly,if anything needed to be done, he would do it in our absence and he would also water the plants,take care of the mail,etc. One evening the door-bell rang,I opened the door, a large smiling lady was standing there - I am Mrs B...,my husband has passed away,I think these are yours,she said and handed me a bunch of keys. Yes,they are. And I am so very,very sorry for your loss,we would very much like to come and pay our respects and attend the funeral. Oh,he died three weeks ago,she replied, We only had a small family gathering,that is the way he would have wanted it. My husband, having just showered,quickly dressed and ran out,wanting to catch up with her and express his condolences. Several minutes later he was back. I didn't say anything to her,she was with a man,holding hands,he said. We knew then that the man who had always appeared so jolly, was very likely in an unhappy relationship. And he never let on. But neither my husband nor I had thought the behaviour of his wife was unseemly and she should be grieving if her love for him was gone, and it so very obviously was.