St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1857-08-20


modesty requires, is the occasional in
tcrvention Of third party, who shall
act for the lady the part which gen.
tleman is supposed to be courageous
enough to act for himself. When a
lass Of Paraguay is smitten with the
charms Of a young Indian warrior, she
applies to an elder of the tribe, or to
the missionary of the station, to pro-
cure his consent on her behalf to the
match. If her proposition is accepted,
all is well, and the pair are married.
If, on the other hand, it is declined, it
becomes the Office of the unsuccessful
mediator to reconcile her to the disap-
pointment, which is accomplished gen.
orally with no great difficulty, there
having been no pining in secret, no
wire-drawing dallyingcircumlocutions
no painful suspense in the transaction
of the business.
If, among ourselves, ladies are some-
times known to take the initiative, we
see no great reason for prudish cxcla-
nations, or any severe judgment upon
their conduct. The proof Of a pudding,
they say, is in eating and the best
proof of the wisdom or proprlety OF
any step is to be looked for in its re-
suits. Owing to the rigid adherence,
in this country, to the custom above
alluded to, we never personally knew
but one instance of matrimonial
match proposed by the lady partner
but that one turned out we'll 1t hap
pened as follows: A young artist,
who painted tolerable landscapes, at
which he wrought dismally hard for
the benefit of the dealers, lodged in
the second floor of Trademarks house,
in the neighborhood Of Oxford street.
He had hard struggle to maintain a
respectable appearance, and to save
enough to enable him to make the an
nual summer sketching trip, which
was indispensable to furnish him with
subjects for his easel His landlord,
who had a thriving business, drank
himself into the delirium tremens, and
lied at the age Of thirty-five, leaving
cos in possssgg.o.w ;sssasgg without incumbran-
From causes we need no" concern
artist. a year after, fell into difhcnlaee
and debt, and of course into arrears
with his rent. Hopeless at length OF
cxtricating himself, and resolving to|
rctrench, he sent for his landlady, and
laid frankly before her the sad case
Of mis- exchequer, Offering either to
omit. or to remove to less expensive
quarters in the attic above, and con-
cluded by asking her advice. The ad-
vice she there and then gave him was,
that he should take her to church, and
wipe out the debt at the altar. We
know nothing of the precise terms IN
which the advice was conveyed, but
that was the sense of it, and in anoth-
er moment the astonished artist was
left alone to revolve the matter in his
mind, The result has been already
suggested. The wedding came off in
a month. The business was advanta'
geously sold and with the means ut
command of procuring valuable IN
struction, and of completing his stud
les by travel, the artist in few years
took high rank in his profession, and
has since realized both independence
and reputation. =
Although the above is the only in
stance of a match of the kind we car
personally vouch for, we can yet re
cord another upon the responsibility o
a friend, who guarantees its truth. a
vonng farmer, on beginning life will
limited capital, found that two things
were wanting to do justice to tht
large farm which he rented on a long
lease--namely, a wife to rule the house
at home, and an additional Thousand
dollars to invest upon the land. Lik,
a sagacious man. he conceived tina
the two might be found combined, an,
he began to look about for cheerful
lass with dowry to the desiderat
amount. Accident threw him one da,
into company with parson of neigt
boring parish, with whom, as he rod
home while returning from market, b
, fell into conversation. Encouraged b.
the divine, the youth unburdened hin
self of his cares and plans, and mel
l toned the design he had formed
4 marrying as soon as he could find a
| agreeable lass with moderate dowr.
n .rll tell you what" said the parse
v -"p pve got three daughters, and ver
D nice girls they are, l assure you. SUI
:. pose YOU come and dine with me ne'
c market-day; you will meet them I
o tho tahla. and If any one of the
e should prove the inevitable she yo
E are in search OF, l shall not be bacl
o ward to do my part as far as ! can"
agreed" said the youth. "Pll con
y AZ sure as you're alive, il you'll 81
ir nothing about it to the young ladies
" "That shall be bargain. On 5;
ID urday next, then, we shall see you
dinner" And here, their roads
le yercing, the gentlemen separated.
rs At the appointed hour on the folio
to ing Saturday, the young farmer
e handsome TRIM arrived at the parsol
ID door. Dinner was served few m
t, utes after, and the young ladies, wi
their mother, graced the table WI
st their presence. All three fully JUS
as fed the encomiums of the father /
dc the youngest, rosy-faced, rogui1'
ht cheerful lass, just escaped from
in teens, alone made vivid impressl
a upon the young farmer. The rep
vi. progressed agreeably enough; a
le- when it was ended, the ladies WI
to- drew, leaving the gentlemen to G
,ry by themselves.
lie "Wen,' said the host, "what
are YOU think of my girls!
in Il think them all charming
ak the youth "but the youngest.
.ct. call her Nelly-is really most bew'
,ral ing, and clever too and If ! am
the have the honor OF being allied to
ded you must give me her.
,ere "That is against all rule" retul
: to the host, "to take the youngest d
9th. but. of course, | cannot control