Delaware weekly Republican. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1841-188?, 1857-08-27

slider the peculiar fascinations Of soli,ar
spinister'S existence Look at that youn
wife by her noble husbands side, nursing he
ialr-haired cherub! Is she not a perfect pic
ture OF happiness Well now look acros
the street at Miss Temperton's. She is slttinl
down to her solitary cup of tea. For man,
years she has lived alone, and long ago gave
up the hope Of love and marriage! Poor la
dy she is never in good health, for her spir
Its are depressed; she Is not well off, and Ina
NO triend in the world except the kind-heari
eu hEielwdow few doors of. But Mis-
Tempertdn is only one among tho thousand
of lonely single women in our cities who's
conditions are less desirable. How many
these are now living in garrets of New York
and daily earning pitance scarce adequate
their wants of necessity, by bending over til
parent OF consumption-the sewing-machine
OF Course the little apartment which they ca
home, is very neat; and the domestics-con
prised Of dog, cat, and parrot--are som
company, and do the best they know how /
striving TO keep up the dropping spirits of thei
mistress; but they cannot prevent her from
asking
| con solitude f! where are thy charms 20
The reader will readily infer that we do moi
take into account the number of dutful and
atiectiunate daughters who devote the best
part of their lives to the care of sick parents
such have their reward for wcll-doing In q
brighter world than this, even if they never
possess husbands love.
Nor must We include " the voluntary old
maids," or those who prefer single life for,
rest assured, such curious creatures are to be
found here and there. Those in very delicate
health, or afflicted with some disease, are
omitted from our list; so we will confine our
attention to the women whose energies are IT.
orally stagnating, and their naturally amiable
tempers becoming uncertain, because they are
peculiarly :ltted for wives, and yet have not
been chosen as such. Have you not scores of
these in yenr thoughts just now? Certainly
you must have.
We advocate early marriages, especially in
our country, which fayors enterprise and pro-
misses success in so many kinds of business
Hero 1t is not absolutely necessary that man
wait to get married until he has accumulated q
fortune; for if he marry a proper help as
wife, they may pursue business and be happy;
and If they are not so fortunate as to succeed
in trade at the first or second effort, every time
they fall they will rise again together; and by
mot being cast down in spirit, will try again
and again, until they are almost certain to sue
coed. We think that a lady should marry
between the ages of eighteen and twenty five,
and gentlemen between twenty-one and thirty.
One great cause for the increase of old maids
and old bachelors, is the indulgence of inordi-
nate ambition for marrying above their own
has so long made the tyrants of Europe safe,
by keeping the people apart, bids fair to do a
great amount of evil in this country also. But
young ladies Of America have seen, in too
many instances, that " honor and wealth from
no condition rise, to permit them to be blind
ed by social position, where their affections are
Interested.
Though business men--thosD who rule tho
destiries of the nltion-try more to get wife
in.
III yet look at the clergy, medical men, ETC.,
| ett.,-do they not almost invariably select a
wife from among the wealthy? No matter
whether a woman be plain, or even downright
ugly, vulgar or refined, il she has good for
tune, she is pretty sure of having plenty of
choice in the matrimonial market. IIeigh-
hO! for golden charms they are the finest
in the world. But every girl has not got
attractions of this kind ; so that thousands Of
the fair sex have to be married for their per-
sonal attractions or Accomplishments and
charms alone. Every father of large family
of aughters-except he be rich--could con-
tess to the anxiety he feels as to their future.
Much of the great anxiety of parents about
their portlonless daughters would be prevent
ed by laying aside sum, from timo to time,
to constitute daughters dowry, instead OF
lavishihg it, as is too frequently the case, up
on their sons. How many are sent to colleges,
and to expensive professions, when the daugh
tiers at home have to pinch and screw even in
the merest triaus Or, if it be impossible to
spare sum for rendering a daughter safe
against want in case OF becoming an orphan,
then the parents owe it as a duty to give such
daughter the kind Of education, trade or pro-
tession, which will be sure to place her above
dependence upon charity or generosity, for
they are first cousins, and the latter is known
to be shortlved sentiment.
Parents have no right to so bring up their
daughters that they incline, by natural conse-
quence, to fall upon the charity of the public |
for support. We should highly approve of |
law compelling gentlemen of fortune to marry |
poor gentlcwomeni on the other hand, rich |
heiresses to wed with those 10 whom their for |
tunes would be a real advantage. By this |
means, instead of the immense accumulation |
Of wealth in some families, and the extremely |
meagre condition Of others, the goods of Prov |
idence would be equali2ed. However, you
will laugh at this suggestion; and certainly no
such state of things is likely to be brought |
about Rich men will marry rich girls, and
"the more Il man haiti" very frequently the
more he wanteth.
Another reason for g -maidism" arises
from the fact, that many girls are not intro
duced as they ought to be into society. There
are very numerous class OF young ladies who
are never what is termed " out" Their par
ents or guardians are not disposed to visit, or
10 receive NlSltOrS at Juelr HOUSES. LII many
cases this arises from Incidence and sheer
thoughtlessness. They have seen all that they
wish to see Of life, and are satiated; and with
the exception Of their two or three particular
old crOnies, they do not wish the presence OF
any friends in their houses.
We know scores Of girls, alniable and lovely,
who have confessed that they have never been
introduced to IN eligible gentleman, from the
time Of leaving school until upwards Of thirty
years Of age. Thon, when all their good looks
have passed away, perhaps they lose their nat
ural protectors, and have for the first time the
opportunity of making friends but it is too
late in the day, except for some widower OF
mature age, whom they cannot fancy; and
thus they settle down to lonely state. 1t is
certainly seltishness and Incidence on the part
Of relatives to deny to girls the opportunity OF
" "seeing" and Sc being aeen." Gentlemen are
continually complaining, when you joke them
about their g bachelor state" that they would
gladly exchange il they could find young la
dies to suit them. The incest girls we have
ever known have been those kept in the back
ground by thoughtless or indolent relatives.-
How many widowed fathers rigldly exclude
from gentlemen's society the lovely girls VINO
superintend their household And when these
parents die, we continually observe the painful
consequences Of such conduct in the dreary
e lndition of their children.
Nor is this folly confined to fathers-it ex-
tends to brothers, uncles, etc. Look at that
young merchant AS yet he cannot afford to
marry; so pretty sister Lucy keeps his house;
and, until he can support wife, he is anxious
in fact, determined-that Lucy shall not
leave him if he can possibly help it. She OF,
ten wonders how it is that Tom Jones, Will
Brown, and other young men, are never in
yited to their house. She is perhaps three or
four and twenty, and wonders at times what
she shall do through life, as she has no money.
Other girls are securing homes Of their own in
different directions, but she remains without
offers, simply because sho is not seen. In
few years the merchant falls unexpectedly in
love, and marries. Lucy, OF course, is not
then required, nor can she stay in her broth
lariI ll.tr