Kanawha Valley star. [volume] (Charleston, Va. [W. Va.]) 1856-1861, 1857-01-13
Vly Leap fear Ii !. railars.

The following. We opine, Is not en-.
tircly local in its application !:
The statisticians Of Boston report
/ that leap Year has been q failure
in the Modern Athens. There has
been twenty per cent, less Of maria
ges there tllis year than the last. The
fact is by no means one to be joked
over.
Funnilly. however, the modtrr
Anthenian statistieians ,ascribe it t.
the passions and expenees of the, re.
cent Presidential election They've
wedlock from afar. If they came
quite upon tile Boston Hymenial alter
they would be in the way Of an expla.
nation of the lamentibie fact they pub
lish. The shfins to Love and. Mar.
rage is crushingly draped with silks
at from three to fifteen dollars q yard
1t is festooned with laccs ut prices
to cause lock jaw to hear of-expen.
siye gemmcd jewelry Hsshes through
:, the meshes Of the pointd Aiencon.
1t every art-silyer plate, paved
thick upon leases Of ''genteel rcsiden.
ces, supports the altar--and mill
.ners' bills for every purchaseablc lux
Iury, more terrible than the bills ofvul:
ture, litter the base Of it rs votive
leaves To the Frost Spirit. circle the
( oak in autpm. What effect has this
profanation Of the shrine Of Marriage.
51oin the young men of Boston, who
lwouldfain bring to it their-personal
] offerings I . r
The statistieians can see it and hear
il. The current of masculine mar
riageable humanity sets right by with
out stopping-sighs, heaved from the
bottom IF prudent but hopeless hearts,
are all that is given. to Hymen.-
Young artists, young artizans, yonng
doctors, merchants clerks, lawyers Of
more youth than clientage, yet all out
ofdebt and earning comfortable and
honorable subsistence for one, accor-
ding to the scale of 1850, pass by
quickly, alarmed by the memorable
conditions attached To- reputable mar
riage in these evil days Of competi.
ton in social display. III
:, Marriage is becoming o luxury to
men in the United States. The cost
of provisions, the wages oflabor, the
rent OF dwellings, the cost of necessa-
ries, and the luxuries, added to the
unrelenting pressure upon people in
respectable society todress richly and
fGrnish showily, make the inevitable
price Of "a family air out Of reach of
tie salaries and income Of most ofthe
younga Of the effect on the morals
and character ola state in which we'd
lock is prohibited, it is unnecessary
TO enlarge. By reading or by travel
we are all familiar with it in France
and in Austria. Prudence and Gus.
tom forbid marriage in the former
country, wherethere is not an assured
income sufficient to maintain it's want
and, social pretensions. In the latter
the armed law holds asunder from the
relations Of husband and wife couples.
who do not posses property guaran-
tees that theirachildren shall not be-
come burthen to the state. In all
ranks of its society income is the
marriage cement Of leye.
!, Marriage may as efectually be pro-
hibited BY the expenses Of millinery
ware and house furnishing, as by q
police regulation. II those modern
AtheDian statisticans will stand with
their Doie books beside their marriage
altarfor two years to come, they will
have to record q steady diminishing
worship at the shine. If old maid
hood be, as many say, an evil, the
penalty offs general reputation Of
cotton dress goods and a scorn Of
gingham, will be paid 10 every house
where there are daughters. Does It,
not behoove all mothers-to initiate
individually if not. in concert, the
wise conduct Of the woman of Brus-
sells '.Upper- Tendoml' sTheir Re-
trcnchment Societyn.has been organi-
zed ito make economy fashionable. -
Its weekly meetings reports Of super.
ftuitics dispensed with and discuss
the feasibility of further curtailments
in household andpcrsonal expenses
Itsmembers are, raotheEs, and these
their 4abors are for the purpose Of
saving marriage to their grown up
daughters, by making it practicable
for those young men whose capital is
disproportioped to their industry and
integrity. .
OH for arcstoration Of gingham and
prints is there no dcliyersnce from
the siIken web Of evil which. Freuch
looms weave for ns. Albany Joar-
nal.
GensFal Paeksnhau's fsmb.