Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-06-01

to give John Smith months warning; II n
is, John Smith receives months wages, and al
because John Smith has married. We cannot ex
pect young men to marry III the face OF such cir
cumstances but they cannot ignore the impulse
of their nature, and that fact-let us whisper
gently for it is topic the delicate world will no
bear to have broadly handled-goes far to accoun
for the vice, and misery, and disease, which none
can shut their eyes to.
Well-the male marrying circle being thus cir
cunlscribed by those who, more or less selfishly
will not marry, and those who cannot and mus
not marry--what is to become of the female mar
riageable surplus thus created? Take the instance
of the tradesman's daughters-the tradesman In
small way-who may manage to keep his family
while he lives, but not provide for them after his
death of poor curates' daughters, brought up with
some mental refinement; of the daughters of the
struggling professional man, who manages just to
make both ends meet. If they do not marry, what
is to become of them after the prop of the house
dies? They cannot sponge on the scanty resour-
ces of poor reaton-even if the poor relations are
wiling-if they have any sense of independence.
The soverness market and the "companion" oc-
cupation are already oyercrowded by poor under
paid ladies. Their pride revots from household
service. The life of the needlewoman, with its
starvation ard exposure to temptation, is the ave.
nue. to something worse. What must they do ?
They must marry if they can. Well,-or what
the world calls well, if possible, if not, badly
The necessity of choosing the lesser evil is strong
upon them. They must not dream OF love-
They must stife personal likes and dslikes Ii
they cannot catch an establishment, they must, at
least, grasp at home and for a home-often
poor one thousands of women marry for home
even poor one-thousands more. pine It is
sad state of things, but ''pity 'tis-'tis true"
So far from marriages of convenience" then,
being confined to the upper classes Of society, we
see that they run through the middle section; and
if we 90 lower down we shall find the same caus-
es and effects at work Lady Velvet, Miss Dim
pie, and Polly, the housemaid, are equally desi-
rous of being settled in the world. The reasons
why are nearly the same in kind, though differ
ent in degree. They act with perhaps the most
force on the less cultivated world. Atth bottom
the nature is the same, spite of the arstocratic Ian
guor of the one, the accomplishments of the Sc
cond and the rough hands of the third. They all
want to be married as we'll as possible, but at all
events to be married. They desire more freedom
from domestic restraint-a position of some kind
in the world, and settled source from which will
lshment. Do you think Polly feels these long
ngs less than either Of her more refined compeers?
No, indeed, possibly more. .day out" is to
her little paradise, and if she was married, she
would have every Sunday. at all events. An
hours relaxation, "a little bit of time to herself"
as she says, between six or seven in the morning,
and any time at night, is as far off vision as the
golden apples of the Hesperdes. If she was mar
RI CHI cba nLyc ha a1, 1rudp-
ing and Shaving; and then, too, herfuture prospect
what is it2 She at present rejoices in her mag
nifcent income Of sGS year, "without tea and
sugar." She finds it hard enough to make it do.
When she has had the necessary quantity ofgowns,
bonnet, and other ndispensables, and gone through
her hollidays-which of course cost something
she has not many shilings left. She knows if
she cannot succeed in driving thought away, that
she must grow old by-and-by, and then the stu
pendous sfS a year will fail-even if she cannot
continue to command that while young. What
is she to do? Of course, she like her betters, must
marry. She does not expect carriage or draw
ing-room. She can put up with two rooms, or
even one; and wooden chairs, oak table, and
French bedstead will do The bakers and the
butchers man can command that. Or r., 1924,
who looks down the area, can manage it, unless,
oilJ uC u anu
keeps them in barracks" Mr.. Timothy Pipeclay,
the soldier, can get her the washing of his compa-
ny, and conlrive home somehow. We are con-
vinced that the marriage of servants, those which
are not the result of utterly thoughtless, reckless
impulse, mostly arise in this way and of their re-
suits we need not say much, well understood as
they are.
From the highest to the lowest there are thou
sands who marry establishments. Some of all
grades-ffom the princely mansion to the confined
attic aretaken ''or better, for worse" Some obey
custom, some are pressed by necessity, some act
from choice. Habit, vanity and want and the fear
of want, are always at work. There are the pri-
vate wrongs of selfshness and ambition, and the
dread of not being able to keep your place in the
world to contribute their helps to the system. So
cial evils there are too to strengthen it. The de-
pendence of women-their want of the means Of
earning subsistence by honorable employment,
which makes that dependence more galling-the
haste to'be rich upon the part of the men-the
commercial ceibacy to which we have alluded
are among the foremUst.' All conspire to produce
want of moral tone-to root out high feelinG-tt
turn passages which will exist into an llegitinate
direction-to noursh error and suffering. The
remedies are better mental and moral training fol
the mass, and a wider and more real prosperity.-
In fact, education and abundant and well paid Ia
Dor are the only things to substitute marriages o.
men and women for scrambles for establishment.