The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1854-10-25


| never Jaw him depressed in spirit, mol
excl eel by anger. lie was always cheer
ful-thc natural result of life Of con
slant and uniform virtue.
Having thus, very hastily and imper
fect!y, given you all the i formation pos
sess IN reference to the inquiries Of youl
letter, conclude with the high esteem
and respect with which am
Your friend, A. Bowie.
ABOUT MATRiMoNY.-Upon no subject
has so much good advice been given as
upon matrimony, yet how seldom is such
good advice listened to. If woman
takes ii into her head to connubialize with
one of the opposite sex whose character
may be damaged, whose habits are roue-
,Sh, and whose future prospects are dubi-
ously uncertain, all that father, mother.
or Deacon Jones may say, in the war OF
advice, on the subject, will not induce her
to forego matrimony with the man she
may have "set her affections upon" And
the same we may say Of the miscuines.
Bo:h, when in love, never listen To- reason.
II is also truth, remarks recent writer.
circumstance of falling in 1--we, reason has
almost nothing at all to do. Taste, per-
haps, has something to do with il, AMI
temperament n good deal but discern
ment is for the most part at fault upon
such occasions. and judgment is not called
upon to act This iSa very serious mat
ter, and must be admitted to be so when
we come To consider the very important
engagements to which mere al AZ
tachments give rise. Doctor Johns n
while stating that be had not discovered
that life has anything more to be desired
than prudent and virtuous marriage, Oh
serves that there is nothing which SO much
seduces reason from vigilance as the
thought Of passing life with an amiabe
woman and he warns the gentleman
whom he addresses, that love and mar
riage are very different states; and that
thosa Soha .arNC, .ss.'- -,.-.., fa- -.I, o,I-~
Of look and that benevoIenc, of mind
which arise from the participation of un-
mingled pleasure and successive amase-
ment.
The pleasantest part Of mans life j.
generally that which he passes in court
ship, provided his passion be sincere. and
the party beloved be kind, with discretion
Love, desire, hope, and all the pleasing
emotions Of the soul rise in the pursuit
The hope, then, is more pleasing than
hoped for; but that which is most curious
in our constitution is, that this sort OF
hope is ready to spring up afreIh in spite
Of known realities which fight against it,
When Johnson heard Of man who was
going u marry second tima, he said it
was the triumph Of hope over experience.
Seldom has a commonplace matter been
resolved into a happier abstraction.
Seeing that courtship is SO pleasant
Addison wisely advises that it should be-
of long continuance. This is point up
on which doctors differ Doctor Ad lison,
however, expressly says, that those mar
riages generally abonna most with lore
and conStancy that are prece'lei BY
long courtship. The passion should strik'
root and gather strength before marriagp
be grated on it. A long course Of hopes
and expectations fixes the ideas in our
minds. anl habituates us to a fondneSs Of
the person beloved. Wordsworth sup.
plies charming illustration of love Of
this kind: ..
@There was youth whom had loved so
long,
That when loved him not cannot say I;
Mid the green mountains many a thought
less song
We too had sung like gleesome birds in
May; f H'' sHr.
When we begun to tire of childish play,
We seemed still more and more to prize each
other,
We talked Of marriage and our m,rrilge
day.
| Aol in truth did love him rs brother,
For never could hope TO meet with suah
another"
The most serious point of all in welded
union Addison just rouches upon, and pur-
sues the point no further; feeling. per
haps, that it was better to suggest it to re-
! fiective minds than to dwell upon il in a
familiar essay. "There is nothing Of so
great importance to us" he says. "as the
good qualities Of one to whom we Join
ourselves for life they do not only make
our present state agreeable, bat often de-
ternine our happiness to all eterniIy."--
| National Mop.ifor.
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